Serbia kept their dream of escaping the group a real shot in the arm with their surprise victory over Germany, whilst Australia’s brave draw with Ghana has given them a chance – albeit a slight one – of making an appearance in a second consecutive World Cup last-16.

The most intriguing game tomorrow will be the clash between current group leaders Ghana and the pre-tournament group favourites Germany.

The Germans shock loss to Serbia has put their progression in the tournament in real jeopardy and they must now beat the Ghanaians to guarantee their place in the knock out stages. On flip-side a draw for Ghana would see them through, although that may mean they would finish the group as runners-up and possible date with England (some would say that would be a good thing!).

Germany will be without veteran goalscorer Miroslav Klose following his sending off in the Serbia game, and coach Joachim Loew will be nervously hoping that his probable replacement Cacau will be able to add to his account following his strike against Australia in their opening fixture. Other changes are possible as the Germans look to recapture the form that saw them so comprehensively defeat the Aussies.

The Ghanaians have problems of their own, with rebel midfielder Sulley Muntari having yet another bust-up with coach Milovan Rajevac, and although the talented Inter Milan man has apologised to his national manager, he looks likely to remain on the bench. Star defender John Mensah has recovered from a calf problem and looks likely to come back in to the side who will no doubt be looking for a stronger performance from ‘keeper Richard Kingston following his mistake in their last game which gifted Australia’s Brett Holman with a tap-in.

With South Africa, Nigeria and Cameroon already out of the competition, the Ghanaians will be desperate to ensure there is an African representative in the knock out stages. Whether they will be get anything out of the Germans remains to be seen, and you somewhat feel that they may have missed their chance with the stalemate in the previous game.

Should Ghana fail to get a satisfactory result from their clash with Germany the door will be left wide open for Serbia to earn a place in the last-16.

The win against the Germans was perhaps somewhat fortunate, with the foolish and ridiculous handball from Nemanja Vidic going unpunished following Lukas Podolski’s poor penalty, as well as the Germans having to play with ten men for nearly an hour.

What couldn’t be questioned however was their defensive solidarity, and once they had got the opening goal, it was very difficult for the Germans to break the Serbs down. A similar performance at the back against the Socceroos tomorrow should be enough to keep a clean sheet, but they will probably be looking for more from giant forward Nikola Zigic, who has flattered to deceive in front of goal so far in South Africa.

Hoping to end the Serbians knock-out chances will be the Australians who have a very slight chance of making it through themselves, although they will have to do so without the aid of Harry Kewell following his red in the Ghana draw, and will also be missing veteran centre half Craig Moore who has also picked up two yellows in the tournament’s first two games.

The Aussies will be boosted by the return of Tim Cahill from suspension, although how much impact he can have leading the line is questionable – particularly against such a strong and experienced defence, and coach Verbeek may chose to utilise Cahill in a familiar attacking midfield role and opt for the more physical presence of Josh Kennedy.

The Socceroos need to win tomorrow and rack up the goals to stand any chance of qualification, with at least a three goal swing required, with their humbling defeat to Germany coming back round to punish them.

The odds on the Aussies are slim, and Serbia look likely to progress, however it’s always perilous to right them off in any sport and only a fool would say they had no chance.

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Germany impressed the pundits in their opener against Australia

The first round of Group D fixtures gave us two winners, and those two sides will be looking to secure their progression to the knock out stages in their fixtures this Friday and Saturday afternoons. Group favourites Germany impressed many ‘expert’ pundits, and arguably gave the best performance of any side in the tournament’s first group games, whilst Ghana edged past Serbia thanks to a penalty in a tight and cautious game. Australia have a lot of work to do following their poor display against the Germans all of which must be done without star man Tim Cahill following his harsh sending off.

Looking at the Germany and Serbia clash on Friday, and it has to be said that the Germans again look likely to take the win – although perhaps not in quite the easy manner that saw them breeze past the Australians. Serbia proved against Ghana that they are strong and resolute at the back, but seemed to lack much finesse in the final third, and that would be there undoing over the 90 minutes, as the superior ‘Black Stars’ dominated the game, something they were aided in doing by the mindless red card received by Aleksandar Lukovic with quarter of an hour to go.

Serbia must be careful not to open up to much against the ruthless Germans, but will surely have to win the game to stand any realistic chance of getting out of the group.

Germany on the other hand will feel under less pressure to secure the win, but should be confident that their superior attacking outfit will prevail against the stoic Serbians. Memut Oezil – as predicted on Offthepost – made a telling impact on the game and will hope to turn in another top performance to secure a knock-out berth for the 15^th consecutive World Cup. Although they may be without important midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, they shouldn’t be too worried

about not getting anything from the game. With three of s

trikers scoring goals, coach Loew should be full of confidence

that his forwards have shaken off their poor domestic showing and have found there blistering international form quickly.

Ghana look well-placed to progress to the knockout stages

Looking ahead to Saturday’s clash between Australia and Ghana, and it must be said that like the Serbians, it really is the last chance saloon for the Socceroos to get through to a second consecutive knock-out stages. The Ghanaians on the other hand are well placed to progress following their impressive performance against Serbia. With the pace and power of Gyan as well as he craft of Boatang they should have enough firepower to get goals against the Aussies, but should be careful at the back as they will doubtless come up against a more positive attacking performance than in their opening group game.

The Australians on the other hand will have to up their game to challenge the athletic Ghana side, and will have to defend with more organisation and class than they showed against Germany. Looking every bit the ageing side that they are, this tournament will be the swansong for many of this side, and they will surely want to go out with a bang. Starting the game with just Cahill up front was a mistake from Verbeek, as it negated the Everton midfielder’s greatest strength of arriving in the box late, but he will not have to make a decision on that front for this game, as Cahill is suspended following his red in the first game.

With no sides yet through to the knock-out stages, Germany will want to be the first side to qualify and a comprehensive win against Serbia would give them a good chance of going on and winning the group. Ghana will also fancy their chances against what look likes a poor Australian side, who themselves will be looking to regain some pride and give themselves a faint chance of getting out of the group.

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