A high-flying Germany were brought down crashing to the earth as they lost 1-0 to a resilient Serbia this afternoon at Port Elizabeth. Having lost striker Miroslav Klose through a red card in the 38th minute, Germany could not recover their composure, even messing up a penalty in the second half. After their stylish performance against Australia, this was a disappointment at the least for German fans and indeed a shock for all.
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It was hardly the Germany that played against Australia – here they looked vulnerable and erratic. They did go for their typical attack right from the start of the match, but Serbian defence was more than up for it. The ball first entered the net in the 30th minute, but Klose was declared offside although it was a very close call. Serbia also came close to scoring minutes later, Alexander Kolarov’s shot just going wide. It looked a good contest in the offing then, but in only the 38th minute, Klose received a second yellow card for a tackle and was sent off. It looked a harsh decision, but now Germany had to play with ten men for the rest of the game – their main striker no longer available even for the next match.
This shock paralysed Germany momentarily. Taking advantage of this and rubbing salt into their wounds, Milan Jovanovic slotted home a ball headed to his path by Nikola Zigic through an aerial cross from Milos Krasic. As Jovanovic wildly celebrated, an upset seemed to be on the cards against the expectations of everyone. But Germany nearly equalised when Khedira’s shot hit the underside of the bar.
The second half saw Germany regaining their spirit and creating a lot of chances – Podolski missed a great chance in the 58th minute and then side-netted again a minute later. After a further two minutes, Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic stretched out his hand to determinedly handle the ball in his own penalty area and paid the price for it through a yellow card, and also a penalty. Podolski, however, failed to convert the chance and it seemed Germany’s fate was sealed. In the 68th minute, Ivanovic’s shot hit the post off a ball from Krasic in what would have been a second goal for Serbia. They again created a couple of chances as Germany was frantically looking for an opening.
Serbia hung on to take the much-needed victory that gives them a realistic chance of qualifying to the next round. It was a bad day for Germany as they just could not get it right. After Spain and France, it was Germany’s turn to face a shock defeat.
