Serbia beats Algeria 3-0 in a friendly

Posted Thursday, March 04, 2010 by YAHOO Sport

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP)—An early goal from Marko Pantelic and second-half strikes by substitutes Zdravko Kuzmanovic and Dusko Tosic gave Serbia a 3-0 win over fellow World Cup qualifier Algeria in a friendly match on Wednesday.

Ajax striker Pantelic opened the scoring in the 15th minute after Algeria goalkeeper Lounes Gaouaoui came for a cross and missed it.

Following a swift counterattack, Algeria striker Karim Matmour found himself alone in the box only to see goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic deny his effort with a fine save in the 28th minute.

Without several regular starters, Algeria created another chance just before halftime after Matmour sped down the right side and won a good free kick but Nadir Belhadj’s attempt was easily blocked by Stojkovic in the 45th minute.

Kuzmanovic doubled Serbia’s lead in the 56th from close range after Algeria’s defense failed to clear a freekick.

Tosic capped his team’s fine performance in the 65th with the third goal from a quick counterattack.

Serbia, which won its European qualifying group to secure a place at the World Cup in South Africa for the first time, will play Ghana, Germany and Australia in the group stage. Algeria, which made it to the semifinals of the African Cup of Nations in January, faces England, the United States and Slovenia.

Lineups:

Algeria: Lounes Gaouaoui, Nadir Belhadj, Antar Yahia, Rafik Halliche, Yazid Mansouri, Mehdi Lacen (Samir Zaoui, 81), Abdelkader Ghezzai (Rafik Djebbour, 63), Slimane Raho, Karim Matmour, Karim Ziani (Djamal Abdoun, 71), Hassan Yebda.

Serbia: Vladimir Stojkovic (Zeljko Brkic, 82), Branislav Ivanovic (Bosko Jankovic, 67), Marko Pantelic (Dejan Lekic, 45), Dejan Stankovic, Nenad Milijas (Radosan Petrovic, 63), Aleksandar Lukovic (Danko Lazovic, 90), Milan Jovanovic, Milos Krasic (Antonio Rukavina, 67), Nikola Zigic (Milos Ninkovic, 76), Neven Subotic (Gojko Kacar, 86), Aleksandar Kolarov (Ivica Dragutinovic, 45).