[size=6]Sour Krauts write off Socceroos' chances of opener upset[/size]FIRST it was injured Germany skipper Michael Ballack ridiculing Harry Kewell for being an inconsistent under-achiever in a dismissive interview with Alpha magazine.
Now the German media have emerged en masse to pour scorn on the Socceroos with key defender Per Mertesaker also chipping in by damning Pim Verbeek's men with faint praise ahead of Monday morning's World Cup kick-off for the men in green and gold.
The German media formed a pincer movement against the Socceroos, advancing like a panzer division to crush all hope before them.
Defenders Mertsaker and Arne Friedrich barely fielded a question about the threat posed by the Socceroos in Durban and when they were asked to comment offered only gruding praise, with Tim cahill the sole exception.
Erik Alexander, of the cable TV channel RTV, extended that concept of distain further, saying:
"Of course we will beat Australia, does anybody doubt it?"They certainly don't in Germany. We are a big tournament team and Australia are one of the minnows in the group."I think Australia will struggle to qualify for the knock-out phase, while we will probably reach the semi-finals at the very least."Lieske Mattins of the Berlin Zeitung newspaper didn't offer much solace to the Socceroos either, insisting that a Germany side, which cruised past Bosnia 3-1 in their final warm-up, will be impervious to anything Australia can throw at them.
"Even though we are without Michel Ballack for the tournament,
it won't matter against teams like Australia because we are too strong. We have the experience and the depth in our squad, whereas Australia are an emerging nation who has a lot to learn on the world stage."
"
We are country with big players and big ambition and Australia won't be able to resist Germany for a whole 90 minutes. They saw that they lost 3-1 to USA in a warm-up and they instantly feel we will beat them also.
"We are far more worried about Serbia in our second game than we are against Australia."