Too Klose to call
There is a school of thought in football, and particularly in England, that Germany tend to carry more than a little good fortune when it comes to the big tournaments. There is nothing lucky about their draw for the group stage this time around, though.
Group D is one of the most competitive sections and all four countries will harbour genuine hopes of making it to the knockout stages.
Germany’s status as a world superpower will be put to the sternest of tests and the outcome of the group will rest as much on which of the teams flourish physically as it will on skill.
Fabio Capello, the England manager, is likely to dispatch scouts to each of the fixtures in the knowledge that England’s reward should they finish as winners of their group will be to face the runners-up of group D in the next round. The Italian will hope that the battle to finish in the top two will be so intense that whoever does qualify will be exhausted should they come up against England.
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On paper, Germany’s squad is the strongest, but having finished above France in qualifying for the tournament, Serbia will have high hopes of giving another European powerhouse a bloody nose.
Australia’s progress will be of interest to watchers of the Barclays Premier League, given that the majority of their squad ply their trade in it. Despite having topped their group in the qualifying campaign, Australia know that they will have their work cut out to progress to the knockout stages. But having emerged from a group that included Brazil, Croatia and Japan in 2006, they should not be ruled out.
Ghana will be at their second successive finals and will enjoy playing in their own continent. Should their preparations go as well as their qualifying campaign, they could upset the odds, particularly with Michael Essien, of Chelsea, in their midfield engine room.
Germany should have enough experience and sufficient quality to go through. Ghana may well join them if Essien is at his best.
GERMANY
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Player to watch Heiko Westermann, 26, made his debut last year. As comfortable in midfield as he is in defence
Coach Joachim L?w cites meticulous planning as the key to success
Best XI (4-4-2): R Adler — P Lahm, P Mertesacker, H Westermann, A Friedrich — B Schweinsteiger, T Frings, M Ballack, T Hitzlsperger — M Klose, L Podolski
Celebrity fan David Hasselhoff — big in Bavaria
Population 82.4 million
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Fifa ranking 6
World Cups [16] 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990 (all as West Germany), 1934, 1938, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006
Best performance Winners 1954, 1974, 1990
How they qualified Won European group four. Only saw off Russia’s challenge in penultimate match
Won 8 (Home 4, Away 4)
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Drawn 2 (Home 1, Away 1)
Lost 0 (Home 0, Away 0)
Form W W W W D
Goals scored 26 Goals against 5
Top scorer: Miroslav Klose 7
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AUSTRALIA
Player to watch Tim Cahill, a goalscoring midfield player who works hard for the team, puts his head in where it hurts and rises to the big occasion
Coach Pim Verbeek has experience at the top level as former assistant to Guus Hiddink, his fellow Dutchman. Both have also managed South Korea
Best XI (4-4-2): M Schwarzer — B Emerton, C Moore, P Kisnorbo, L Neill — L Wilkshire, V Grella, T Cahill, H Kewell — M Sterjovski, J Kennedy
Celebrity fan Dame Edna Everage — deceptive
Population 19.73 million
Fifa ranking 21
World Cups [2] 1974, 2006
Best performance Round of 16, 2006
How they qualified Won Asian group one. Few problems in first campaign after move from Oceania section
Won 9 (Home 6, Away 3)
Drawn 3 (Home 0, Away 3)
Lost 2 (Home 1, Away 1)
Form D W D W W
Goals scored 19 Goals against 4
Top scorers: Tim Cahill, Brett Emerton 4
SERBIA
Player to watch Zoran Tosic, the 22-year-old Manchester United winger fêted — in Serbia at least — as the new Ryan Giggs
Coach Radomir Antic, Luton Town legend, has signed a contract extension, which will be extended again if they reach Euro 2012
Best XI (4-3-2-1): V Stojkovic — B Ivanovic, N Vidic, A Lukovic, A Kolarov — N Milijas, D Stankovic, D Lazovic — M Krasic, M Jovanovic — N Zigic
Celebrity fan Jelena Dokic — tortured tennis star
Population 10.66 million
Fifa ranking 20
World Cups [10] 1930, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1974, 1982, 1990, 1998 (as Yugoslavia), 2006 (as Serbia and Montenegro)
Best performance Fourth 1930, 1962
How they qualified Won European group seven. Saw off France, wrapping up group with game to spare
Won 7 (Home 4, Away 3)
Drawn 1 (Home 1, Away 0)
Lost 2 (Home 0, Away 2)
Form W W D W L
Goals scored 22 Goals against 8
Top scorer: Milan Jovanovic 5
GHANA
Player to watch Michael Essien, the Chelsea midfield player, who is a powerful, dynamic force, a tireless runner and seems to have developed a knack of scoring vital goals
Coach Milovan Rajevac, the 55-year-old Serb, made his name with Borac, turning them from relegation fodder into Uefa Cup competitors
Best XI (4-4-2) R Kingson — J Paintsil, E Addo, J Quartey, S Inkoom — S Muntari, M Essien, S Appiah, A Annan — M Amoah, A Gyan
Celebrity fan Kofi Annan — Nobel Peace Prize winner with UN
Population 20.47 million
Fifa ranking 37
World Cups [1] 2006
Best performance Round of 16 2006
How they qualified Won African group D convincingly after scraping through initial group
Won 8 (Home 5, Away 3)
Drawn 1 (Home 1, Away 0)
Lost 3 (Home 0, Away 3)
Form W W W L D
Goals scored 20 Goals against 8
Top scorer: Matthew Amoah 5
Did you know?
? Since their defeat in the 1966 final, Germany/West Germany have progressed farther than England in the next ten World Cups.
? Of Australia’s five goals in their seven finals matches, three came in eight minutes in the closing stages of the 3-1 win over Japan in 2006.
? Serbia have let in six goals in a game in their past two tournaments (as Yugoslavia, to Holland at Euro 2000; as Serbia and Montenegro, to Argentina at the 2006 World Cup).
? Milovan Rajevac is the third Serb to coach Ghana this decade after Milan Zivadinovic and Ratomir Dujkovic.
Star player: Miroslav Klose, Germany
Germany have never lost a game in which Klose has scored. If the player to watch is the player with the most ambition, this man fits the bill perfectly, having stated that he wants to usurp Ronaldo, the former Brazil striker, as the all-time greatest World Cup goalscorer. Ronaldo scored 15 goals in four World Cups, but Klose has scored five in two consecutive finals. Indeed, he is the only player to have achieved this feat.
Klose, born in the Polish part of Silesia and who likes to call himself Silesian, qualified for the Germany team through his father’s nationality. He wins most plaudits for his heading ability — in fact all his goals at the 2002 World Cup were headers. His tendency to celebrate goals with a front somersault earned him the nickname “Salto-Klose”.
Spotlight on ... Ghana
With no one expecting South Africa, the hosts, to make much of an impact, Ghana are the most likely of the African nations to win the competition on continental home soil and should not be underestimated. Under Milovan Rajevac, a tough-tackling former defender who made his name in management by turning Borac Cacac from relegation fodder in his native Serbia into a team who qualified for the Uefa Cup and there are high hopes he will be similarly successful with Ghana.
Michael Essien is the most high-profile player, but he is part of a fast, powerful midfield quartet featuring Stephen Appiah, the captain, Anthony Annan and Sulley Muntari.
The African Cup of Nations next month could prove to be a timely dress rehearsal for Ghana, and if they do triumph in Angola and win the tournament for the first time since 1982, expect their World Cup odds to tumble.
Fixtures
Sunday, June 13 Germany v Australia (Durban, 3pm); Serbia v Ghana (Pretoria, 7.30pm)
Friday, June 18 Germany v Serbia (Port Elizabeth, 12.30pm)
Saturday, June 19 Ghana v Australia (Rustenburg, 12.30pm)
Wednesday, June 23 Ghana v Germany (Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg, 7.30pm); Australia v Serbia (Nelspruit, 7.30pm)