WCQ Preview: Romania – Serbia

The moment we’ve all been waiting for is finally here – two teams from Group 7 tipped to fight for the second qualifying spot alongside France are finally fighting it out beetween them. Tonight’s match in Constanta promises to be an interesting one: despite being close in terms of quality and qualifying chances, Serbia and Romania had had very different fortunes to date and are in very diverse positions. Serbia is a team full of optimism and in an excellent run of form – they sit first in Group 7 and play the attacking type of football that, honestly spoken, our fans aren’t quite used to, and go into this game with the knowledge that while defeat wouldn’t destroy our qualifying chances, victory would mean an extremely significant step in the direction of South Africa. Romania, on the other hand, goes into the game knowing that after a draw and a defeat at home they need a victory desperately – especially since it would be a victory against direct rivals and, it wouldn’t be too much to say, a quality side. An awful run of form, rumors about coach Victor Piturca upcoming sacking and less than ideal injury situation really make Romania a team in shambles, and a team with an imperative of winning at all costs. Now, who will profit more from the situation? Angry Romanians determined to humilate Serbia in order to prove their quality and salvage their chances, or a calm and organised Serbia waiting for the Romanians’ pressure to tell in a negative way? We’ll see tonight.

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!