Ghana, Serbia in Balkan duel
Source: Agencies |
June 13, 2010, Sunday
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Print Edition
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LED by its third Serb coach in eight years, Ghana should have a good handle on its Balkan adversary heading into their high-altitude World Cup match in Pretoria today.
Serbia has no such connection to Ghana, but midfielder Dejan Stankovic says his team has done its homework. "We've familiarized ourselves with Ghana," Stankovic said on Friday. "We've watched them a lot. We will be looking to exploit their weaknesses."
Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac, a former Red Star Belgrade defender, is taking on his compatriots without star Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien, ruled out of the World Cup due to a long-term knee injury.
Essien's absence is a severe setback for the Black Stars, who were runners-up in the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year.
"He is a massive player for us -- we will miss him a lot," said Ghana midfielder Sulley Muntari, who plays club football with Stankovic at Inter Milan.
Ghana will count on Muntari's pace and striker Asamoah Gyan's firepower to rattle a solid Serbian backline built around Manchester United's Nemanja Vidic.
The Serbs edged France in qualifying but underperformed in friendlies. Winger Milos Krasic said a win today would boost their confidence for the next match, against group favorite Germany.
Others said it was too early to start looking ahead. "We're only worrying about Ghana now. Nothing else," striker Marko Pantelic said. "We are going for a win and we'll worry about everything else later."
Led by former Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona coach Radomir Antic, Serbia is playing its first World Cup since the split with Montenegro.
Four years ago in Germany, the Serbia-Montenegro team lost all three group matches, including a humiliating 0-6 defeat to Argentina wedged between narrow losses to the Netherlands and Ivory Coast.
A four-time African champion and 1992 Olympic bronze medalist, Ghana, historically, is one of Africa's strongest teams. But it has only played a World Cup once before, in 2006, when it lost to Brazil in the second round.
Serbia has no such connection to Ghana, but midfielder Dejan Stankovic says his team has done its homework. "We've familiarized ourselves with Ghana," Stankovic said on Friday. "We've watched them a lot. We will be looking to exploit their weaknesses."
Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac, a former Red Star Belgrade defender, is taking on his compatriots without star Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien, ruled out of the World Cup due to a long-term knee injury.
Essien's absence is a severe setback for the Black Stars, who were runners-up in the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year.
"He is a massive player for us -- we will miss him a lot," said Ghana midfielder Sulley Muntari, who plays club football with Stankovic at Inter Milan.
Ghana will count on Muntari's pace and striker Asamoah Gyan's firepower to rattle a solid Serbian backline built around Manchester United's Nemanja Vidic.
The Serbs edged France in qualifying but underperformed in friendlies. Winger Milos Krasic said a win today would boost their confidence for the next match, against group favorite Germany.
Others said it was too early to start looking ahead. "We're only worrying about Ghana now. Nothing else," striker Marko Pantelic said. "We are going for a win and we'll worry about everything else later."
Led by former Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona coach Radomir Antic, Serbia is playing its first World Cup since the split with Montenegro.
Four years ago in Germany, the Serbia-Montenegro team lost all three group matches, including a humiliating 0-6 defeat to Argentina wedged between narrow losses to the Netherlands and Ivory Coast.
A four-time African champion and 1992 Olympic bronze medalist, Ghana, historically, is one of Africa's strongest teams. But it has only played a World Cup once before, in 2006, when it lost to Brazil in the second round.
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