England's Wayne Rooney speaks during a news conference. - Reuters Photo
Germany wary of Serbia despite big opening win
After producing the best performance in the first few days of the World Cup with its 4-0 win over Australia, Germany is being extra wary of Serbia.
“It’s (Serbia’s) last chance to stay in the tournament and we’ll have to be very careful and concentrated,” Germany assistant coach Hansi Flick said of Friday’s match. “Australia was no measuring stick and Serbia is a very good team, with players in top clubs in Europe. We’ll have to improve what we did well against Australia.”
And so the Serbians face a double dilemma in the Group D match: the Balkan team is coming off a mediocre performance in losing to Ghana 1-0, while Germany was at its clinical best against Australia to boost its claim to the title. Another loss will almost certainly end Serbia’s chances of progressing.
Serbia coach Radomir Antic said his squad had lost some confidence in its opening match, but was capable of rebounding against the Germans.
Serbia’s only claim to a win over Germany at the World Cup came when the country was part of Yugoslavia, which beat West Germany in the 1962 quarterfinals in Chile.
“This upcoming match is really a historic match for us,” Antic said. “But Germany should also inspire us to regain the passion and joy in our game. We were too tight against Ghana, we failed mentally. All our players have to raise their level.”
The teams were scheduled to have a training session Thursday at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, but FIFA told both sides Wednesday that heavy rain over the past two days had damaged the field too much for practice at the venue.
Serbia held an early afternoon training session Thursday in Port Elizabeth at a local university. The German squad delayed its trip, with the players holding their final training session near their base outside Pretoria before flying to Port Elizabeth later Thursday.
Germany general manager Oliver Bierhoff said Thursday that there was no disadvantage to training away from Port Elizabeth because “the Serbs are in the same position.”
Bierhoff said Germany has been training at kickoff time 1:30 p.m. the last two days to get used to the early start.
And changing their dining habits as well.
“Eating pasta at 10 in the morning takes getting used to,” he said.
Serbian striker Milan Jovanovic, who is set to join Liverpool from Standard Liege, said the loss to Ghana “affected our mood” and that Germany’s big win over Australia didn’t help.
Germany midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger missed two practice sessions because of a cold, but trained Thursday and should be fit to play on Friday.
ENGLAND AIMING TO MAKE MARK ON WORLD CUP
For all the attention on Wayne Rooney and his bid to break his England goal scoring drought, the focus on Friday’s World Cup match against Algeria will almost certainly be on the goalkeepers.
If a draw against the United States was barely acceptable, only a win over Algeria will do for an England squad that is expected to progress from Group C. But the Algerians know about upsets, otherwise they would not be at the World Cup.
Both teams suffered from dire goalkeeping errors in their opening matches.
Slovenia took the lead in the group through a 1-0 win because of Algeria’s Fawzi Chaouchi’s costly mistake.
That, though, was a minor glitch compared with the fumble from Robert Green, which allowed the United States an equalizer and cost England a victory in the 1-1 draw at Rustenburg.
It even called into question the coaching acumen of Fabio Capello, who had been lauded as England’s genius tactician during preparations for South Africa until that draw.
It also overshadowed a mediocre opening game by Rooney, who was considered until recently as second only to Lionel Messi among the forwards expected to star in South Africa.
“For us to do well, I need to play better than I did,” Rooney said.
“Against Algeria, we can’t not be at our best and win the game. The further it goes, when you are playing against better teams, then you need to be at your best to win. Friday, we just have to win.”
England might not even face Algeria’s blundering goalkeeper. Chaouchi hurt his left knee in training on Tuesday, and may save coach Rabah Saadane from having to make a choice about replacing him.
Capello has three fit ‘keepers to select from, though none instills high confidence among the England fans.
Green’s pride is already hurt. But will Capello go for veteran David James, who already has earned his nickname “Calamity” James for good reason? That’s even more reason for the England forwards to come to life. England’s only goal so far in South Africa came from midfielder Steven Gerrard in the fourth minute, and Capello is considering his options to provide more offensive thrust.
Not even the rashest of coaches would consider pulling Rooney off the starting lineup, but his strike partner Emile Heskey is coming under increasing pressure. Beyond England’s borders he is not considered World Cup caliber and even Capello has hinted he is considering replacing Heskey with Jermain Defoe.
For Rooney, though, the 2010 World Cup is also about making up for a mediocre 2006 edition.
“The last World Cup was a disappointment for me,” he said. “I’m looking to do well in this one and try to prove myself on the world stage.
One selection certainty for England is the return of midfielder Gareth Barry from a six-week injury layoff for his first World Cup game.
And if England needed any more prodding for an improved performance, it came from its nemesis Germany, where the great Franz Beckenbauer said England had “gone backwards” because of its lack of local talent.
Despite the struggling start, England is still favored to advance from Group C where its last match is against Slovenia.
Algeria may by No. 30 in the world rankings, 22 spots behind England, and coming to its first World Cup in two decades, yet the Desert Foxes have already proven their strength by rising sharply from No. 103 over the last two years.
At its only previous appearance in 1982, Algeria beat West Germany 2-1 and Chile 3-2 but still failed to make it to the second round. And it didn’t qualify for this World Cup until a playoff victory over African Cup of Nations champion Egypt.
So one setback in the first game when Chaouchi misjudged Slovenia captain Robert Koren’s 25-meter shot is unlikely to hamper their preparations to play England.
US STARS HOWARD, ONYEWU FIT TO FACE SLOVENIA
US goalkeeper Tim Howard is not sure if his ribs are broken or not and he is not planning on finding out as long as the Americans are in contention at the World Cup.
Howard said Wednesday that his ribs, injured by England striker Emile Heskey in Saturday’s 1-1 draw, have improved and while they likely will be sore, he expects to play Friday against Slovenia.
“It’s getting better. Time is a good healer,” Howard said. “It’s going to be sore. I’m a firm believer in adrenaline. You can’t get enough of it. I feel like once I get out there, I will be ready. I won’t be stopped by it.
The 31-year-old Everton goalkeeper also will not be looking for a deeper diagnosis than that of bruised ribs for now, saying they do not feel broken.
Oguchi Onyewu, the star defender who returned in May after missing seven months with a ruptured left knee tendon, stopped Frank Lampard and outpaced Wayne Rooney in two memorable moments from the England draw.
He also went a full 90 minutes for the first time since before the setback.
“I focused on playing how I was playing before the injury. I was finally able to silence the naysayers, get them off my back for at least one game,” Onyewu said.
“I feel fine. I feel good enough to compete at 100 percent. For me, that chapter was closed seven or eight weeks ago.”
