Tag Archives: Serb

Worthington’s men set for Serb test

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Friday night throws up some intriguing international fixtures as nations across the continent look to go one step closer to securing a place in Euro 2012.

Northern Ireland currently sit in fourth place in Group C but could go up into second spot if they can pick up three points against Serbia (Serbia 1/2, draw 3/1, Northern Ireland 6/1).

This will be a tough test for head-coach Nigel Worthington and his side as they travel to Serbia in a challenging away fixture.

The Serbs have underperformed in the qualifiers so far and have not yet picked up a win in front of their home fans and will be desperate to do so on Friday night.

Northern Ireland have shown great improvement in the qualifiers this term and a draw away from home would be a great result to keep them in the hunt for Euro 2012.

Slovenia host Italy in the other Group C clash with the Azzurri looking to increase their three-point lead at the top of the table (Solvenia 13/5, draw 9/4, Italy 11/10).

The Italians have put the disappointment of the World Cup in South Africa behind them and will once again be a force in Euro 2012.

Italy should win this one against a Solvenia side who lack any real attacking threats.

France also look like they have turned a corner after a shambolic World Cup and they will be looking to continue their good form against Luxembourg on Friday (Luxembourg 25/1, draw 8/1, France 1/25).

Manchester United’s Patrice Evra and Bayern Munich’s Frank Ribery return to the side following their suspensions for their parts the training strikes in South Africa.

They will add some extra quality to a side that have improved under manager Laurent Blanc and Les Blues should comfortably pick up another three points here.

Defending European champions Spain will hoping to maintain their 100% record in Group I as they host the Czech Republic (Spain 2/9, draw 4/1, Czech Republic 10/1).

Spain cruised to a 4-0 victory in their last qualifier against Liechtenstein but the Czechs will be a more difficult proposition.

However, at home and with the likes of Xavi and Andres Iniesta pulling the strings in the midfield and David Villa up front, Spain should have enough to win this one.

World Cup finalists the Netherlands travel to Hungary to also maintain their perfect record in qualification (Hungary 11/2, draw 11/4, Holland 4/9).

Hungary are battling in second place in Group E and have been competitive in qualifying.

The Dutch will be without Arjen Robben and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar for the trip to Hungary but with the likes of Wesley Sniejder and Robin Van Persie in their ranks they should head home with three points.

Austria take on Belgium in Group A as both teams look to chase down Germany at the top of the table (Austria 7/5, draw 23/10, Belgium 19/10).

The last time these two sides met it finished 4-4 in Brussels and hopefully the return game will be just as exciting.

Austria have made some big improvements in qualification and should just have the edge over the Belgians.

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Ivanovic urges Serb caution

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Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic has warned his Serbia (5/1 to win Group D) team mates not to get carried away with their impressive win over Germany (4/6) on Friday.

The Serbs’ hopes of qualifying for the last 16 were hanging in the balance before the start of Friday’s match after their 1-0 defeat to Ghana in their opening game.

With Germany having blown Australia away in their first match it looked ominous for Serbia, who, before the start of the tournament, had been tipped as potential dark horses after an impressive qualifying campaign.

However, after their slow start the Serbs bounced back with a controversial victory over Germany.

The Germans will count themselves a little unfortunate not to have got anything out of the Group D match, the three time champions having been reduced to ten men after Miroslav Klose was shown a second yellow card in the first half.

Milan Jovanovic then gave the Serbs the lead just a minute later and Radomir Antic’s side were good enough to hold on for a much needed win.

While Ivanovic insists he was over the moon about the win he says their heroics in Port Elizabeth will count for nothing if they don’t finish the job against Australia.

“It’s given us back the respect that we lost in the first game. But we have not finished. We must perform, we must stay compact, we must stay strong in our third game. We must now start thinking of the third game against Australia,” said the Chelsea defender.

“In this game, we showed character and we will just try to do our best on the pitch.

“Everyone is happy now at the moment and there’s a great feeling – but we are not qualified. We just have three points and we need to keep the same focus for the third game.”

Serbia will be full of confidence going into the game with Australia who looked a shadow of the side that reached the last-16 four years ago in their 4-0 defeat to Germany.

However, despite the Socceroos (17/2 to qualify from Group D) poor performance against Germany (2/7) Serbia centre half Nemanja Vidic is reluctant to talk up his team’s chances.

“I have played against a few of their players in England – Lucas Neill, Tim Cahill, Brett Emerton – and I have a big respect for their team. Physically, it will be a difficult game,” said Vidic.

“Our people will be satisfied after we won this game, and that’s the most important thing. If we get to the second round, they will be very, very happy.”

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