World Cup Analysis - Group D May 29, 2010
Coach: Joachim Loew (Germany)
FIFA Ranking: 6
24.92 is the average age for the German current 25-man squad. This hasn’t been checked, but it is probably the youngest German squad to ever play at the World Cup and one of the youngest squads in the tournament, benefitting from an outstanding group of young players.
On the other hand there seems to be a leadership problem in the team, a problem that took a turn for the worse with Michael Ballack's tragic injury, which took out the head of the team. All eyes will look at Schweinsteiger, Podolski and most of all Philipp Lahm to take over the role, mainly due to Miroslav Klose's poor form.
Another injury prone problem occurred in the goalkeeper position with Rene Adler's injury, leaving 3 talented goalkeepers up for the starting role, none of them with more than 3 international appearances. Hans- Jorg Butt would be a natural for the open position due to his experience and overall great year with Bayern Munchen, but if Manuel Neuer will receive the chance, Germany will be surprised at how much this injury paid off.
With all that in mind, the three times World Champions are still as strong as ever, flowing with fresh new talents that will surely make a name for themselves this campaign, a natural contender for this groups leading squad.
Key Players: Philipp Lahm , Bastian Schweinsteiger and Cacau .
Players to Watch: Mesut Ozil , Manuel Neuer and Dennis Aogo .
Australia
Coach: Pim Verbeek (Netherlands)
FIFA Ranking: 20
The Socceroos have qualified to this years' World Cup for the first time from the AFC Asian Cup qualifications after abandoning the Oceania Football Confederation. They eased through the qualifying rounds, not conceding a goal in the six matches it took for them to qualify.
The Australian squad is a well trained group, who has played together for some time now, built of nine Premier League players, as well as players playing in top teams in Italy, Turkey, Germany and Holland, with only two players in the 28-man squad playing in the A-League.
Everton's Tim Cahill will have a crucial role in this team's success being their top player, backed up with veteran keeper Mark Schwarzer who will try and keep the goal clean. Not an easy team to beat, who may surprise all the teams in the group or at least give them a hard time.
Key Players: Tim Cahill , Mark Schwarzer and Harry Kewell .
Players to Watch: Joshua Kennedy and Dario Vidosic .
Serbia
Coach: Radomir Antic (Serbia)
FIFA Ranking: 16
Serbia qualified to the World Cup as leaders of Group 7, finishing first before France, who went on to play at the play-offs. The Serbian squad led by former Luton player Radomir Antic is a well-built team, very solid in both ends of the field, holding many exciting players.
The Serbian team is prone to charge head first at this group, playing fresh and ready from the get-go, liable to even finish in first place. Ghana and Australia should be wary of this great squad, whose only limitation is lack of big tournament experience.
Leading their defence will be Manchester United's Nemanja Vidic and Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic, along with a killer midfield consisting of such players as Inter's Dejan Stankovic and Milos Krasic and with an attack that includes heavyweights like Nikola Zigic , Marko Pantelic and Dragan Mrdja . Serbia will definitely be a sure nomination for the "dark horse" of the World Cup.
Key Players: Nikola Zigic , Dejan Stankovic , Milos Krasic and Nemanja Vidic .
Players to Watch: Zoran Tosic , Dragan Mrdja and Zdravko Kuzmanovic .
Ghana
Coach: Milovan Rajevac (Slovenia)
FIFA Ranking: 32
In the 2006 World Cup, Ghana were the only African team to progress beyond the first round and they also had a good campaign in qualification rounds for South Africa 2010 becoming the first African team to qualify.
Most recently in the 2010 African Cup of Nations, to everyone's surprise Ghana, with a limited squad, managed to end the tournament in second place, losing in the finals to the three-time title holders, Egypt.
A team that, although not holding the most impressive of African players, managed to achieve good results, but lack, like most African teams, the killer instincts needed in important maches. One of the big problems for The Black Stars is in the goalkeeping position that lacks an accountable keeper. Another problem is Michael Essien 's injury, who is uncertain to be 100% fit for the tournament and as recently reported ruled out of the World Cup.
In order to advance Ghana will need to play with top discipline and find inventive ways in order to score goals. Most of their recent games ended in a low number of goals each game, particularly a 1-nil result, they need to find a steady goalscorer. They certaintly have the tools in order to advance from the group stage, the question is if they'll manage to execute them.
Key Players: Sulley Muntari , John Paintsil and Asamoah Gyan.
Players to Watch: Andre Ayew , Kwadwo Asamoah , Dominic Adiyiah and Isaac Vorsah .
Group Summary: Germnay and Serbia are the favourites in a rough calculation of all the parematers, but it is fair to say that none of the teams in this group are liable to give away any games and that all of the matches will be tough. Final prediction: Serbia and Germany.
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