Germany v Serbia - Low wary of Serbia response

Posted Friday, June 18, 2010 by PA

Germany boss Joachim Low has warned his players not to be caught out by a Serbia backlash as they attempt to continue their charge into the last 16.

The Germans turned in arguably the performance of the opening round of games when they trounced Group D rivals Australia 4-0 in Durban on Sunday.

Serbia had earlier gone down 1-0 to Ghana in Pretoria, but while Low's men have been basking in the praise of an appreciative worldwide audience ever since, he will not allow complacency to creep into his squad ahead of tomorrow's showdown in Port Elizabeth.

He said: "Serbia are like a boxer who has taken the first blow, and they will be poised to hit back.

"They simply have to win the next match, so we know they will be poised to hit back.

"I have heard their coach (Radomir Antic) talk about honour and character. He says it's an historic match, the match of the year, so it is going to be difficult.

"If you know the Serbian culture, they are very strong fighters and are perfectly able to deliver on their promises.

"I expect a very different Serbian performance to the first match. They will go the extra mile until the last minute." Serbia coach Radomir Antic has warned his team they will have play better than they ever have before if they are to see off the stand-out team of the World Cup to date.

The Serbians face Germany knowing defeat would almost certainly ensure their exit from the tournament.

They lost 1-0 to Ghana in their opening game on Sunday, hours before Germany dismantled 10-man Australia to lay down a marker to the rest of the big guns.

Antic was hugely impressed by that performance, and knows his side will have to be much better than it was in Pretoria to keep alive their hopes of making the last 16.

He said: "Our opponent is the team which played the best game in the first part of this World Cup.

"They played a very good quality game and, unfortunately, we lost in our first game.

"We are quite conscious of the fact that we didn't play at the level we are used to in the game against Ghana, and that game showed us that we have to be much more relaxed when we play.

"We must not have any burden preventing us from reaching our goal and each player has to do better than he has done before.

"I am sure every player will manage to find the special energy needed to win against a very good opponent.

"We are quite aware of the situation we are in but, objectively speaking, everything depends on other games that will be played.

"Even if we draw, maybe we will manage to go to the second round, which is our great wish."