The home side goes into this game after a terrific run of results that started approximately one year ago and look poised to continue. Serbia’s efficiency and consistency during this qualifiers was remarkable, although it can be also said that the quality of play didn’t really always follow the run of good results. Skeptics could say that it only a matter of time before this stream ends, but some may also claim that winning with minimum fuss even when you are not at your best is a sign of great teams. One way or another, Serbia has played some good football and achieved some great results. More importantly, it started functioning as a team. Since he came at the helm of the national team, Radomir Antić has done wonders for the side, the results may be great but this is not where the story ends – Serbia seems to overcome all the issues of the past and finally starts reaching it’s full potential. The belief in the national team has never been so great and it is just the kind of atmosphere to be had for a game like this.

Since I’ve already submitted the list of players and explained the situation with the missing ones, I’ll just remind that the two key players who are missing are Boško Janković (knee injury) and Marko Pantelić (unfit, long time without a club). Other than that, Radomir Antić has a full squad of players to chose from. But which formation will he use?
Now, this isn’t very easy to guess. At the back, Nemanja Vidić and Branislav Ivanović are, as always, guaranteed to start, but the left-back and the second centre-back situation leaves various combinations possible. My guess is that he will use the back line of Obradović, Subotić, Vidić and Ivanović, but Ivica Dragutinović, Aleksandar Luković and Aleksandar Kolarov could also appear on the pitch without it being a major surprise.
Guessing the midfield and the attack depends on the formation which Antić will use. My guess, and the general consensus in Serbia, is that we’ll deploy a 4-3-3 that can easily revert to a 4-5-1, with Nikola Žigić as a lone striker and the brilliant pair of Milan Jovanović and Miloš Krasić on the wings. Now, these three players are guaranteed to start whatever formation we use in the end since they are the backbone of our attack, but the rest of the squad isn’t so easy to predict. If we use the 4-3-3, we’ll probably see Dejan Stanković, Nenad Milijaš and Gojko Kačar in the center of the park, but Zdravko Kuzmanović and Miloš Ninković could also be involved if Antić wishes to experiment a little. If we use a 4-4-2, then there’s a good chance that Zoran Tošić could start on the left with Milan Jovanović deployed in a striker’s role alongside Žigić.

Serbian strengths? First of all, I simply need to mention Serbia’s excellence in the air, with Nemanja Vidić, Branislav Ivanović and Nikola Žigić all exceptionally good at headers, so corners and free kicks could be our best chance of scoring against Les Bleus. Since France is probably intent on dominating the game from the start, swift counter-attacks could expose their defensive weaknesses and the players like Miloš Krasić and Milan Jovanović have proven to be very capable in executing some terrific drives from the flanks. Romania has shown what chaos can a counter-attack from the sides do to The French and I think that Serbian strength in that segment makes this a genuine threat to our opponents. My opinion is that Serbia mustn’t rush forward and go for victory from the very beginning, but defend wisely and seek for a chance via set-pieces and counter-attacks, France’s individual talent remains extremely high and any slip we make can be severely punished by their extraordinary attackers. Having said that, I don’t think that bunker-like defense would do us any good, though, giving France lots of the ball means giving France a lot of opportunities. Defend wisely and try to break their attacks on the center of the pitch, any kind of cowardly tactics could make our net full until the end of the game.

Here’s the expected line-up:

Stojković
Ivanović – Vidić – Subotić – Obradović
Kačar – Stanković – Milijaš
Krasić – Žigić – Jovanović

France:

If you’re interested for this game from the perspective of our tonight’s opponents, I’m sure that the guys from The France Blog will do a better job than I can. But I still have to mention some rather important things. First of all, France is in turmoil at the moment. Their coach Raymond Domenech has been extremely unpopular for a while now and it was only a matter of time before his team fail again in an important match, with criticisms coming from virtually all directions. By drawing with Romania at home on Saturday, France has missed the chance to go into this game holding their destiny in their own hands. Like I already wrote, even a victory wouldn’t make them feel safe and this game is now more of a breathing straw than a genuine chance for them. In other words, pressure in extremely high and it can be argued this is more of a vital match for France than it is for Serbia.
But although France doesn’t look strong as a team and haven’t really had much successes for a while now (if you are not counting 1-0 victories against The Faroe Islands and Lithuania as successes), they remain one of the strongest teams on the planet. The game against Romania, although ending with a dissapointing result, actually demonstrated how dangerous can France be if they are given enough chance to play. If they play the same way they did against our eastern neighbors, this isn’t going to be an easy match for Serbia despite all the headlines about “wounded France” and such. Domenech maybe isn’t the best coach in the world, but the team he has at his disposal is a lethal one.

Now, what formation will France use? I think that this one is easy to guess. A 4-2-3-1 with Jeremy Toulalan and Lassana Diarra as holding midfielders is almost guaranteed, while Yoann Gourcuff as an offensive midfielder and Thierry Henry in the forward department are also destined to start. The goal should again be Hugo Lloris’s responsibility, while a defense of Evra, Abidal, Gallas and Sagna can also be expected. In the attack, there is a probability that Karim Benzema will play alongside Nicolas Anelka and Thierry Henry, since Pierre-Andre Gignac didn’t really have the best of games against Romania. Their most dangerous player, however, Franck Ribery, isn’t likely to feature from the start because of a lack of fitness and an alleged injury he suffered on Saturday. Expect him to come on as a sub later in game, though.

France’s strengths? Wow, there is a long list of those. Lots of their players are capable of solving games on their own and the level of individual talent they have is breathtaking. They have an excellent ‘keeper, a highly experienced defense, a formidable midfield and a world-class forward line. It is almost funny when you think that such a team has such qualifying problems and isn’t sure to even feature at the World Cup. But as they are not really at their best under Domenech, we could really defeat them if we’re good enough. That said, I’m not really sure what are our chances if these guys actually decide to finally show what they can in these qualifiers. If that happens, we’re in for one hell of a ride.

Probable starting line-up:

Lloris
Sagna – Gallas – Abidal – Evra
Toulalan – Diarra
Henry – Gourcuff – Benzema
Anelka

Players to watch:

For Serbia, the players who are likely to make a difference are goalkeeper Vladimir Stojković and Nemanja Vidić. The Manchester United’s defender is a back-bone of the Serbian defense and could also easily be on the scoresheet after a set-piece. Since a draw is a rather fine result for Serbia, the defense is a vital part of the team – if it does the job properly, this game will end with a positive result. And just not to be so defense oriented, I’ll also mention my favorite pair of players – wingers Milan Jovanović and Miloš Krasić. They solved a lot of games for us, why wouldn’t they solve this one?

For France, I believe everything will revolve around Thierry Henry. This beast of player has a habit of scoring goals in the best possible moment, be it with his head or feet. If we want not to concede againt France, closely marking their captian is an absolute must. All of their forward players are exceptionally good, but Thierry Henry has a class of his own. Vidić, have you heard that?

Prediction:

Serbian fans, don’t hate me for this, but I believe France is about to win this one. I already see Henry scoring at the worst possible moment with Serbia’s commitment coming fruitless in the end. We may be favorites in some way, but we simply don’t have luck with the bigger teams. This team has never, ever, defeated one of the world’s top sides and I simply can’t predict this tradition will end now. But if we are ever to stop this negative trend, could there ever be a better moment than this one? If we prove we aren’t capable of dealing with the top sides, what are we going to to at the World Cup then? So, I’ll eat my own words and will not write any kind of result. It’s time to fight the odds!

Goalkeepers:

Nikola Žigić (Valencia)
Milan Jovanović (Standard Liege)
Danko Lazović (PSV Eindhoven)
Marko Milinković (Košice)

Now, what is interesting about this list? About those who are on the list, the presence of Marko Milinković and Radoslav Petrović could be considered surprising, but as these players are not likely to feature at all with such competition in their positions, it’s not really that important for the side as a whole. What does matter, however, are the absentees: Boško Janković has injured his knee and will not be back until February, while Marko Pantelić has been left behind for not having a club at the moment. Janković’s absence does hurt the side’s depth on the wings, but with Krasić, Jovanović, Tošić and Ninković all capable of playing in his position his loss shouldn’t be crippling. But as a quality player capable of turning games on his own, he’ll probably be sorely missed if things don’t work out the way we want them to.
Pantelić’s situation is more tricky: although omitted from the squad for not having a club, Antić has promised him to be the part of the team as soon as he finds himself a new team (note: Pantelić has been without a club since his Hertha contract expired and has trained with Crvena Zvezda since then). Pantelić was a starter for us so far, and while there are other attacking options available to Antić, his absence could be considered as a rather serious problem. The matter would be settled, however, hadn’t Pantelić found himself a club in the meantime, signing with Ajax. Will Antić call him up after this splendid news, or will he consider him unprepared for such a serious challenge – it remains to be seen.

A match preview will follow in the next few days…

P.S. The whole nation has really gone wild because of this game and there are serious ticket buying problems for all those unlucky not to have ordered them on the very first morning of internet sale (and even that wasn’t a guarantee, this whole mess is rather contraversial with massive ticket orders from sponsor companies and such). Therefore, I probably won’t be able to get the ticket for myself. Ironic, isn’t it? Covering for the NT for such a long time, watching it play against Faroe Islands, Austria and such, and then miss the “game of the decade” I’ve been writing about for a while. Dissapointment is a rather weak word for what I feel, but I guess that’s life.

Here’s the line-up Antić used:

Stojković
Ivanović – Subotić – Luković – Obradović
Kačar – Petrović – Ninković
Krasić – Žigić – Jovanović

So, this was basically a 4-3-3 with Žigić up front, Krasić and Jovanović as wingers and Radoslav Petrović as a defensive midfielder. Antić didn’t have a full squad at his disposal, with Pantelić, Stanković, Kolarov and Milijaš being left behind and Janković and Vidić being injured. Therefore, Antić called-up some new faces, notably Radoslav Petrović of Partizan Belgrade, and gave a chance to Ninković, Kačar and Luković in the starting line-up.

The first half was goalless, however, and at half-time Zoran Tošić replaced Krasić, Kuzmanović stepped in instead of Kačar and Lazović filled the shoes of Jovanović. This has changed the formation somewhat, and also the result. “A living proof that you can advance by simply training with Alex Ferguson” – Zoran Tošić – scored two fabulous goals and Lazović scored another one, second for Serbia on the night. Players like Rukavina, Tomović and Milinković were also given some minutes at the very end and Serbia only conceded one goal, with Mphela’s strike in the 90′ minute giving the hosts a consolation goal. A splendid victory, really.

Dear South Africa – we hope to see you very soon. Victory against France and we can already book hotel rooms, let’s hope that Ribery, Henry & co. aren’t going to cancel our flights – after being so close, that would hurt very, very much.

Stojković
Ivanović – Subotić – Dragutinović – Kolarov
Krasić – Kačar – Milijaš – Jovanović
Žigić – Pantelić

Prediction:

A win! Who cares about the result, The Faroe Islands are a banana skin that needs to be defeated at all costs, and if you ask me, it’s precisely what makes them a banana skin – an imperative to win that all sides have when they confront them. I’ll admit that I wouldn’t be too surprised if they managed to get a draw and make me eat my TV, but let’s pretend it’s a taboo and not take that possibility in consideration. Let’s believe in Antić and his boys, it’s that belief that drives this team forward and let’s not abandon that ship even before it crashes. Go, White Eagles!

The second half proved to be much more interesting. The Austrians, knowing that they don’t have anything to lose, started playing some bold and offensive football that took the Serbians by surprise. Nemanja Vidić was replaced at half-time by a right-back, Antonio Rukavina, and the defensive reshuffle that ensued made the Serbian defense look a lot less convincing. Both Rukavina and young centre-back Neven Subotić looked rather shaky at times and the Austrians were creating a chance after chance. The introduction of Boško Janković instead of Danko Lazović midway through the second half, however, gave the home side a spark that they needed. It was Janković who hit the post after a free-kick on the left side and it seemed like Serbia would actually score sooner or later.
But the guests had “secret weapons” of their own. Constantini introduced Marc Janko and Rubin Okotie (a fantastic player!) to improve his side’s offense and those two really wreaked havoc in the Serbian lines. It’s not that the Austrians dominated the game after that moment, but they were given too much space to create chances and it could’ve all ended rather miserably for Serbia hadn’t Marc Janko hit the bar after a fantastic shot that could’ve been labeled as a goal of the round. The whole crowd waited for the final whistle in fear, but the Austrians didn’t pose much of a threat at the very end.

It was a vital victory for Serbia, but it was far less convincing than the previous ones and that is something that doesn’t please the fans at all. With this level of play, France would definitely humiliate us and we can only hope this was just a bad day and that the pressure of having a full crowd in a long time took it’s toll on the players. But in the end, 3 points are won and the manner in which our direct rivals, France, won some of their games shouldn’t make us feel as bad as most of the fans do at the moment. It wasn’t an undeserved win and we should only look to improve our level of play before somebody really does punish us for it – let’s just hope it doesn’t happen at all.

Team news:

Unfortunately, our joint-best goalscorer so far and an attraction of the upcoming transfer window, Nikola Žigić, misses the game because of yellow cards and will watch the game from the stands. The other probable absentee is young Partizan Belgrade left-back Ivan Obradović, an another summer attraction and a terrific player for us in the qualifiers so far. Other than that, Antić will have at his disposal a strong team that looks good enough to defeat the Austrians, themselves missing a few of their key players. Both Antić and Constantini promissed to play some bold, offensive football that will probably siute the fans quite well and make this game live-up to its expectations.

Probable line-up:

Ivanović – Vidić – Dragutinović – Kolarov
Krasić – Stanković – Milijaš – Jovanović
Pantelić – Lazović

Prediction:

I really am too terrified to predict anything at all. With both teams ready to play offensively, I assume there are going to be some goals, probably from both sides. I’ll be courageous and predict a 4-1 win for Serbia, not because I believe that the Austrians are going to be crushed, but because I expect their bold style of play could eventually allow us to hit them on the counter-attack and achieve a more resounding victory than we actually deserve. However, I wouldn’t be too surprised to see a dull draw or even a victory for Austria, they are really not a team you should underestimate and have enough quality to stage an upset. Let’s hope, though, that this won’t happen tonight. As always, keep an eye on Milan Jovanović and Miloš Krasić in the Serbian team, while on the Austrian side you should definetely watch out for Marc Janko, one of the most prolific forwards in Europe at the moment.

P.S. You should also drop by the Austria WCB, where I’m sure J has some interesting thoughts to share from the opponent’s perspective.

Your blogger will be at the game itself, so he won’t be able to post any comments or thoughts until tomorrow, but will hopefully give you a good review of the game in the next few days. And yes, he really is excited to be a part of a 50.000 fan army that will support The White Eagles tonight. May this be a night to remember for a long, long time – in the positive sense, of course!

In the first half, Serbia played an almost perfect match, easily stopping all Romanian attacks without giving them a decent chance to score and scoring two goals themselves. The first was one was scored by Milan Jovanović after Miloš Krasić, himself well played in by Pantelić, hit the post after an excellent run on the right. Standard de Liege man found himself in the right place in the right time and simply tapped in the rebound to give Serbia the lead. It looked like the first half is going to end that way, but Nemanja Vidić had other thoughts, pressuring Romanian defender Stoica to put to ball into his own net after a corner by Krasić (didn’t I tell you to watch out for this guy?). When the whistle was blown, the game looked like a resolved affair: Serbia played and defended very organized, giving the Romanians no chances whatsoever and prudently used all of theirs.

The second half, however, wasn’t going to be the same as the first. Romanians started playing very aggresive and attack-minded, and while the Serbian defense wasn’t going to be breached so easily, Romanian attacks started to bear fruit. Ciprian Marica scored an immensly important goal after a collective defensive blunder, and it looked like the Romanians were on course for an equaliser. The pressure must have taken it’s toll on both teams, because chaos is the best word to describe what has happened on the pitch after Marica’s goal, with both sides playing rather disorganised. After one such chaotic incident in front of the Romanian goal (in which there was even a handball by a Romanian defender), Branislav Ivanović managed to put to ball in the net by a pretty uncharacteristical overhead kick.
With Serbia leading 3-1, it looked like Romanian challenge was indeed over, but our eastern neighbors simply didn’t want to give up. Serbia had to endure wave after wave of Romanian attacks, Antić even subbed a third centre back, previously uncapped Neven Subotić, to replace a striker, Marko Pantelić. It was somewhat ironic that the young Borussia Dortmund man was the one who made a foul from which the Romanian goal came from: Mutu found Stoica in the box, and the Romanian defender didn’t hesitate to score his second goal of the night, this time in the opponent’s net. After the goal, Serbia had to defend rather heroically to survive the Romanians’ intense pressure, but the victory was ours in the end. In a game of two halves, Serbia did just enough to come out on top, and I assure you that even makes this victory sweeter.

I’m somewhat late with this review, and there was a friendly played on wednesday in which Serbia defeated Sweden 2-0, and the U21 also played a couple of friendly games. I hope I’ll be able to write a short report about these games in the next few days. A fantastic football spring for Serbia, really!

Judging by the interviews made by the players such as Stanković, Jovanović, Žigić and Kuzmanović, there is a real desire to win in the Serbian camp, but everyone also tried to point out the Romanians’ quality and a genuine threat in the form of their attacking players – most notably a ”cunning” Adrian Mutu capable of making wonders all by himself, and no, he’s definetely not the only one out there.
On the other hand, the players and the coach are very well aware of one other thing – if we defeat the Romanians, it will most definetely be the end of their World Cup dreams, and a beggining of ours. While that kind of pressure can’t be compared to the one the Romanians have on their shoulders, it shouldn’t be underestimated. Our tonight’s opponents might be desperate to win in order to stay in the race, but our boys are really burning for a win that would keep them (i.e. the Romanians) out of it.
So, it promises to be a very fiery encounter beetween two quality sides directly facing off for a place in South Africa, and the current table standings and team form shouldn’t make us forget that simple truth. It might be interesting to point out that the game isn’t played in Bucharest, the capital of the country, but in Constanta, a city in the east of Romania, on the shores of the Black sea. Now, while it is well known that the atmosphere over there really suit the hosts pretty well and that the stadium welcomed some much stronger teams and made them leave defeated, there is a theory over here in Serbia that the game was scheduled as east as possible to prevent many Serbian fans crossing the border and going to the game to support their team. Now, while there isn’t much difference beetween going to Bucharest and going to Constanta and that’s why the theory, even if correct, shouldn’t be made a big deal about, it is quite interesting for me to witness the psychological effects of that re-schedule (because the game was originally scheduled for Bucharest) on the team that seems aware of the fact that they are going to the place that is as much far and as much hostile as possible. Oh, and, don’t understand this word ”hostile” as a reference to some nationalistic dispute almost all the neigboring countries in the Balkans have beetween them – Serbia and Romania have always had friendly and warm relations, and the only animosity we could talk about is purely a sporting one. May it be like that beetween all of our neighbours.

Probable starting line-up:

Stojković
Ivanović – Vidić – Dragutinović – Obradović
Krasić – Stanković – Milijaš – Jovanović
Pantelić – Žigić

Prediction:

I might be too cautious to expect a win from our boys, but I still feel we can prove our quality tonight. Romania might have better chances, but I really trust in this Serbian team the way I’ve never had trust in it before. I’d stay somewhat cautious, however, and guess a high-scoring draw such as 2-2. If the Romanians score first, I think we’re doomed, and if we manage to grab the first goal, we’ll have good chances of winning. Our defense doesn’t really have the habit of letting us down and we better all hope the offense works as well.
As in the previous games, keep an eye on Miloš Krasić and Milan Jovanović - these players have done wonders for us in the last few games and they simply can’t stop fascinating me. If they play as good as they proved they can, I believe this could be an another Austria (i.e. a 3-1 away win) for us. All in all, Napred Beli Orlovi!

Nikola Žigić (Racing Santander)
Marko Pantelić (Hertha Berlin)
Danko Lazović (PSV Eindhoven)
Miralem Sulejmani (Ajax)

There are two debutants in the team: Dynamo Kyiv’s Miloš Ninković, who already got a call during the previous qualifers but whose injury kept him from making his debut in the autumn and Borussia Dortmund’s Neven Subotić, a new and exciting additon to the team who only recently decided to play for Serbia instead of the United States, the country where has lived in large periods of his life and for who’s youth selections he’s already played for. These two players are definetely an excellent boost to our already talented team and I really can’t wait to see them in the red shirt (or white away shirt, actually). I just hope Antić integrates them well and the Sweden friendly will definetely give him the chance for that.

Oh, and, the U21 team also plays some friendlies with Ukraine and Romania, both played at home, but away from Belgrade, where all NT games are usually played. That would be a nice strategy to employ in the long-term, people outside of the capital are really frustrated because of the Belgrade-related football dominance at all levels, and the U21 games in Belgrade don’t really fill up stadiums anyway. The team itself is talented as always, with Zoran Tošić relegated from the senior NT, probably because of his lack of playing time at Manchester United, while the rest of the team is quite similar to the one that defeated Cyprus a month ago. Two victories perhaps shouldn’t be expected, but are definetely hoped for.

I’ll write a preview about the Romania game in the next few days. If you’re interested, I believe J at the Romania WCB might also give you an interesting perspective to the game. It promises to be a very tight encounter and will likely decide much of the fate of the Group 7, also featuring France, Austria, Lithuania and Faroe Islands.