Serbia are yet another side that were once part of Yugoslavia. In fact, they did not become known as simply Serbia until the qualification stage for the 2010 World Cup. They have a couple of well known players, and looked impressive in qualifying. They will be keen to erase the memories of their disastrous World Cup tournament in 2006.
As Yugoslavia, they qualified for the 1998 World Cup after a record 12-1 aggregate win over Hungary in a playoff. They were a highly regarded side and expected to do well, but Holland eliminated them 2-1 thanks to a late Edgar Davids goal. As Serbia and Montenegro, they qualified for the 2006 World Cup with the best defensive record in Europe, conceding only one goal during their ten group matches. Again, they were tipped as a potential dark horse but they lost all three group games, their defensive toughness abandoning them as they conceded ten goals. Holland beat them 1-0, Argentina humiliated them 6-0 and they also managed to throw away a two goal lead and lose 3-2 to the Ivory Coast.
In their first ever World Cup qualifying campaign as Serbia, they managed to finish top of a group that contained France. This came as a surprise and has placed their World Cup opponents on high alert.
They have been drawn in the highly competitive Group D with Germany, Australia and Ghana. This is one of the hardest groups in the competition and possibly the only one where any two sides of the four could conceivably progress.
The Serbian side is filled with talented players who are playing at top European clubs. The likes of Manchester United’s Nemanja Vidic, Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic and Inter Milan’s Dejan Stankovic are the star turns in what is a solid squad. Although the draw could have been kinder to them, they will not fear any of their opponents, and if they can progress from such a difficult group, they will be quietly confident that they can make a big impact in South Africa.