No that is not a misprint. Germany really did miss a penalty. In fact the Germans have failed to miss a penalty in a world cup finals match since 1982, that's including penalty shoot-outs as I'm sure England fans will be able to testify. Germany went into this game on a high, after being one of the few "heavyweights" to really set the ball rolling in this competition. Coming into this game, we heard the comments of Beckenbauer and indeed the German media who stated that the Germans were going to be a real force to beat, after a 4-0 victory against Australia. Serbia, on the other hand, have been tipped to do fairly well but were fairly awful against Ghana, losing that game 1-0. Many thought this game would be more challenging for Germany but that they would see Serbia off anyway. Except, this wasn't quite the case...
To be fair to the Germans, the referee had a big part to play in the final scoreline. The Spanish referee was a very picky and fussy guy who was eager to stop the game everytime there was even a little sniff of a foul. This disrupted the rhythm and flow of a game that was littered with yellow cards. The ref gave 9 yellow cards during the match and eventually a red to German forward, Miroslav Klose. The decision was harsh though. It wasn't a straight red, but the fouls that he was yellow carded for weren't really worthy of a card in the first place. The Germans, will no doubt feel aggrieved by that decision as well as several others, which really did make it seem as though the ref was against them for most of the game. Before Klose's sending off on the half hour mark, Germany had been much the better team. They weren't able to infiltrate the Serbian defence as easily as the Australian's but they were able to have control off the midfield as Serbia sat back. Ozil and Podolski both had good chances as Germany played a patient, measured game of football, passing the ball around with ease in midfield. It seemed only a matter of time before they would score, as Serbia were unable to keep hold of the ball. Serbia seemed happy to let Germany have the ball, and did not bother to try and steal it off them in midfield.
However, as soon as Klose was sent off, the game took a dramatic turnaround. To add salt to the German wound, only a minute and a half after Klose's sending off, Serbia got themselves into the lead. Krasic who had looked pretty good in the game against Ghana, wafted over a great pass to Zigic who nodded the ball to Jovanovic who wasn't going to miss from close range. The Serbians went wild as Jovanovic jumped over the barriers to celebrate with the Serbian fans. I was half worried he was going to get a yellow for that, but luckily the ref, this time, decided to let it go. As the whistle blew for half time, the Germans surrounded Alberto Undiano and demanded an explanation for Klose's red card. It really did spoil the game but the Germans had to get over it and concentrate on the next 45 minutes. Aside from the goal, Serbia had not showed any real intent to score and were content to defend deep. Despite being a man down, Germany still had the quality to come back. The game was not unwinnable.
But unfortunately for the Germans, they only had themselves to blame in the second half. They failed to really get over that Klose sending off and lacked composure to finish off the chances that came their way. The Germans began the second half much the same way as they had begun the first and you could be forgiven for thinking that it was Serbia who were a man down, not Germany. They had several chances too - most of them falling to Lukas Podolski who could not take advantage of them. Germany could have won the game and even more so had they put away the penalty. Similar to what happened in the game against Ghana, when the Serbs again gave away the penalty, Vidic for some reason or other, despite all his experience, palmed the ball away with his hand and it was one of the few good decisions that the ref made. Up stepped Podolski, who had already missed a host of chances, and kicked the ball straight at the keeper. It was a really poor penalty, by all accounts. It had no pace on it, no venom and didn't make the keeper work at all. It was also a real lifeline for the Serbs, who need to stop using their hands in the box! After the penalty, the Germans failed to get anything going and it was Serbia who came close to going 2-0 into the lead. Jankovic hit the post and Zigic hit the bar after some fine work again from Krasic, who did really well at getting forward for Serbia. In desperation, Joachim Loew sent on two attacking subs - Cacau and 20 year old Marin but they failed to inspire the Germans to a comeback.
In the end, Serbia pulled off an historic victory - their first against Germany, and opened up Group C once more. With Serbia, Germany and Ghana all on level points, Australia have the chance to make it 3 all and get themselves back into the race if they beat Ghana later today. What a turnaround after that first emphatic victory that saw many people picturing Germany in the finals. It just goes to show that you never know quite what you will be getting in the World Cup and perhaps we shouldn't all be quick to speculate on the basis of just one game...ahem Beckenbauer ahem...
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