Serbia stuns ten-man Germany

Miroslav Klose is the man who saves his best for the world stage. Impotent for Bayern Munich over the course of this past season, the striker flicked the switch in Germany's opening group game against Australia, scoring his 11th goal at World Cup finals to close in on the Brazilian Ronaldo's record of 15. Onwards and upwards, everyone predicted, with Germany widely fancied. Yet he and his team were stopped brutally in their tracks here. Klose's red card was one of those moments that had eyes widening and mouths opening all around the stadium. Already on a booking for a trip on Branislav Ivanovic, as the Serb had burst out of defence, Klose's challenge on Dejan Stankovic was nothing more than a nibble at ankles. Yes, it was a foul, but a second yellow card? Stankovic was not about to spark a Serbian attack and there was certainly nothing nasty in Klose's intent. But you knew that the referee Alberto Undiano was going to do it by the way that he rushed in. The Spaniard had possibly made a rod for his own back by dishing out five yellow cards in the first 32 minutes but his application of the strictest letter of the law drew gasps. The Germany players, it ought to be said, were commendably restrained in their protests. What will they make of the decision at the referees' headquarters in Pretoria? Each of the four-strong teams of officials from the various nations are based there and, after every performance, there is an extensive debrief involving them all. Could it be that the furore over Cristiano Ronaldo's call for greater protection had an influence? The consensus here was that if Klose's second card were merited, football would be entering the realms of non-contact sports. Anyone for netball? The World Cup had so far been notable for an absence of controversy. Undiano appeared keen to compensate and, as he continued to keep the whistle to his lips in the second half, so the blood pressure of the Germany manager, Joachim Löw, rose. At full time, Löw marched straight off down the tunnel, gesturing angrily. The dismissal shaped the game, although it should not detract from an encouraging performance from Serbia, whose football was compact, committed and laced with no little enterprise. Their three starting midfielders held a narrow line, with the captain, Stankovic, in the middle, ever available for the short ball out of defence. On the flanks, Milos Krasic and the new Liverpool signing Milan Jovanovic impressed, Krasic particularly so. The CSKA Moscow winger is a summer transfer target for Juventus and he would have added to his value. His crosses and trickery were a delight. Serbia sometimes offer the impression that their finger is never far from the self-destruct button. The vital penalty that Zdravko Kuzmanovic conceded for handball in their opening game defeat against Ghana was utterly needless and Nemanja Vidic, inexplicably, aped his team-mate to concede another one. Mercifully for Serbia, Vladimir Stojkovic saved Lukas Podolski's 60th minute kick. Germany showed great character with 10 men and Löw the boldness to chase the game with attacking substitutions. But his players, as they diced with conceding a second on the counter, could not fashion the equaliser. Löw was keen not to turn his team's final group game, against Ghana on Wednesday, into a drama. Thanks in part to Undiano, he has been denied his wish.

World Cup 2010 - Match facts: Germany v Ghana

All the key facts and stats ahead of the Group D encounter in Johannesburg. The only previous encounter between these two sides was won 6-1 by Germany in 1993. Germany have not lost against an African side since 1982 (1-2 v Algeria in the World Cup). Against Serbia, Germany lost their first World Cup group game in 24 years. In the preliminary stages of the 1986 World Cup they were beaten 2-0 by Denmark. The last time Germany lost two consecutive games at the World Cup finals was between the 1978 and 1982 World Cups. Ghana could become only the second African team to reach the knockout stages in two consecutive World Cups. Nigeria were the first team to achieve that feat in 1998. Ghana have won their last two games against European sides at the World Cup finals, without conceding a goal. Germany have won all of their last 11 games against a non-European or South American side at the World Cup finals, keeping a clean sheet in five of the last six of these. Asamoah Gyan has netted 50 per cent of Ghana's goals in the World Cup so far (three out of six). The last three goals scored by Ghana in the World Cup have all come from the penalty spot. Germany have won their final group matches in the last four World Cup tournaments, without conceding a single goal in the last three.Opta

Visit the other World Cup host cities

Click to view 1. Cape Town 2. Durban 3. Nelspruit 4. Rustenburg 5. Pretoria 6. Polokwane 7. Port Elizabeth 8. Bloemfontein

Looking for a hotel while visiting Johannesburg!

Map & Directions Click here to view a map of the stadium and the local area. Ellis Park Ellis Park was constructed in 1982 as a modern, integrated stadium offering outstanding sight lines from every seat. The Stadium stands within a world class sporting precinct, barely 15 minutes' walk from the Johannesburg City Centre, and offers outstanding office, security and medical features. For 2010, new upper tiers will be constructed behind each of the goals, at the north and south ends of the venue, increasing the net capacity by 10,149 seats to a total 60,000. Ellis Park will host one quarter final match.

Johannesburg World Cup 2010 Stadiums

Map & Directions Click here to view a map of the stadium and the local area. Soccer City Johannesburg will have two stadiums in the World Cup 2010 and also boasts the opening match, one semi final and the final match of the tournament. Soccer City is the jewel in South Africa's crown, built in 1987 and with a capacity of 94,700 (excluding Media and VIP's) it is sure to offer a great atmosphere for the lucky few that get tickets and hopefully as the stadium to be used for the first game, provide an excellent springboard for a magnificent tournament. For 2010, the upper tier will be extended around the stadium, an encircling roof will be constructed, new changing room facilities will be developed and new floodlights will be installed.

World-Serbia squad for World Cup finals

BELGRADE, June 1 (Reuters) - Serbia coach Radomir Antic on Tuesday named the following 23-man final squad for the June 11-July 11 World Cup in South Africa: Goalkeepers: Vladimir Stojkovic (Sporting), Bojan Isailovic (Zaglebie Lubin), Andjelko Djuricic (Uniao Leiria). Defenders: Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea), Antonio Rukavina (Munich 1860), Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United), Neven Subotic (Borussia Dortmund), Aleksandar Lukovic (Udinese), Ivan Obradovic (Zaragoza), Aleksandar Kolarov (Lazio). Midfielders: Dejan Stankovic (Inter Milan), Gojko Kacar (Hertha Berlin), Nenad Milijas (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Zdravko Kuzmanovic (VfB Stuttgart), Radosav Petrovic (Partizan Belgrade), Milos Krasic (CSKA Moscow), Zoran Tosic (Manchester United), Milos Ninkovic (Dynamo Kiev), Milan Jovanovic (Standard Liege). Forwards: Nikola Zigic (Birmingham City), Marko Pantelic (Ajax Amsterdam), Danko Lazovic (Zenit St. Petersburg), Dragan Mrdja (Vojvodina Novi Sad).

McCarthy out of South Africa's WCup squad

Host South Africa left all-time top scorer Benni McCarthy out of its World Cup squad on deadline day Tuesday while Gareth Barry hoped that good news from a fitness checkup would put him among England's 23. Although many of the 32 qualifiers have already named their final squads ahead of FIFA's deadline of 2200 GMT on Tuesday, defending champion Italy and former winners Germany and England were among those to leave it until the final day. So was the host country, which made the widely expected decision not to include McCarthy. The 32-year-old striker, who has scored 32 goals in 78 games for South Africa, has struggled with fitness and form all season while playing in England for Blackburn then West Ham. "It was a sad thing to have to split apart our family," coach Carlos Alberto Parreira told a news conference as he announced the six players who will not play in the first World Cup to be staged in Africa. "But I told them, 'Put your heads up, life goes on. All of you deserve to be here'. Unfortunately we have to obey FIFA rules and we can only name 23." South Africa kicks off the competition against Mexico on June 11, and then faces former World Cup winners Uruguay and France in its group. South Korea, Slovakia and Greece also named their squads on Tuesday with no major surprises, although the Slovaks named two strikers who are recovering from injuries. Filip Holosko broke his leg last year and was not able to train with the team until Monday while Robert Vittek has been sidelined with a knee injury. Neither player was able to play in Saturday's 1-1 warmup draw with Cameroon at Klagenfurt, Austria. "It was a tough decision," coach Vladimir Weiss said Tuesday. "Holosko isn't 100 percent fit. Or, he may be fit but we don't know what to expect in a real match. It's the same with Vittek. We'll see in the next few days." Slovakia's first group game is against New Zealand on June 15 and it then meets Paraguay and Italy. Defender Kwak Tae-hwi, who injured his knee in Sunday's 1-0 warmup loss to Belarus, is out of the South Korea squad and was replaced by Kang Min-soo. Coach Huh Jung-moo cut three more players from his provisional squad, leaving midfielders Ku Ja-cheol and Shin Hyung-min and Japan-based striker Lee Keun-ho behind. "Lee Keun-ho hasn't been able to get over his poor run of form," Huh said. "Shin Hyung-min didn't look sharp against Belarus, and it's unfortunate but Ku Ja-cheol wasn't selected." The 2002 World Cup semifinalist faces European champion Spain in a warmup match on Thursday in Innsbruck before leaving for South Africa for Group B games with Greece on June 12, Argentina five days later and Nigeria on June 22. Greece coach Otto Rehhagel, who led the team to a surprise Euro 2004 triumph and had already trimmed his squad to 25, left out midfielder Grigoris Makos and defender Giorgos Tzavelas. Italy coach Marcello Lippi, who guided the team to its fourth World Cup triumph in Berlin four years ago, has to cut five players from its squad, with forwards Marco Borriello, Fabio Quagliarella and Giuseppe Rossi most at risk. Germany coach Joachim Loew hopes to take as many as six strikers, although he may have to change his plans because of injuries to midfielders. Striker Miroslav Klose was top scorer at the last World Cup but he has not been a regular starter with Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich and could miss out. England manager Fabio Capello, who seems set to confirm he will stay on after the World Cup, said he knew his 23 but is waiting for the results of a fitness check on midfielder Barry, who has not played or trained since damaging ankle ligaments playing for Manchester City against Tottenham on May 5. Barry has been a regular starter under Capello and, if the results of the test are encouraging, the manager may put him in the squad even though he may not be fit enough to play in the opening game against the United States June 12. England then faces Algeria and Slovenia.