2010 World Cup – Australia vs Serbia – 23 June

Australia’s third game in the World Cup will be held on 23 June 2010 at Nelspruit where we will play against Serbia. Earlier the same day the other two teams in our group of four, Ghana and Germany, will play against each other. This will be the end of the Group rounds with 2 of the 4 teams from Group D going through to play in the final 16. If Australia don’t beat Serbia they will not go through to the final 16, and even if they do they may not go through depending on the results of the Ghana-Germany match.

How Australia has Performed in Group D Matches

Australia was soundly thrashed by Germany for a score of 4-0 in the first game. In the second match Australia scored the first goal against Ghana in the 11^th minute. Less than 25 minutes into the game disaster struck when Harry Kewell was red-carded by Italian referee Roberto Rosetti (remember what the Italians did to us last World Cup?). Australia had to play for over an hour with one man down and were lucky that the final score wasn’t worse than the 1-1 draw.

How Serbia Performed in Their Group D Matches

Serbia lost their first game to Ghana 0-1 and then surprised everyone by beating Germany by a goal. As teams get 3 points for a win and 1 point for a draw that means Ghana leads Group D with 4 points, Germany and Serbia both have 3 points and Australia is at the bottom of the heap with one point.

Will Australia Beat Serbia on 23 June?

This should be another very interesting game. Serbia beat Germany who beat Australia, but Australia drew with Ghana (with one player short) who beat Serbia. Australia will be playing without Harry Kewell but will have Tim Cahill back on the team. The Serbian team has many players who play at a high level in Europe and both teams need this win to make it through to the final 16. It should be a close game and great to watch.

Sportsbet has Australia at $4 and Serbia at $1.83 with $3.75 for the draw but again I believe the odds should be a lot closer together, even without Kewell. A draw is quite possible but would mean Australia would not go on in the 2010 World Cup.