The World Cup Group D opener between Serbia and Ghana in Pretoria today is one that neither side can afford to lose, in a tough pool that also includes Germany and Australia.
While many might believe that the clash at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium is crucial in the battle for second place behind the Germans, the group should be far closer than that, with even the Aussies capable of shaking things up.
In tight groups any defeat can put a team under pressure and such a reverse in this game could see the losers potentially needing to beat Germany to reach the knock-out stages.
It all suggests a tight and cagey affair for which neither side has had an ideal build-up.
The Black Stars have lost arguably their best player in Chelsea’s Michael Essien, who misses the entire tournament with knee ligament damage, and that blow will certainly hit their hopes.
What’s more, their second most high-profile star, Inter midfielder Sulley Muntari, is struggling to be fit for the opener with a thigh injury, although he expects to make it.
Despite the potential threat posed by Australia, Muntari believes that this match is the most important for the team’s qualification.
“Germany are the group favorites and so it will doubtless come down to Serbia — we don’t know quite what to expect against them, but we know they are a good team,” Muntari said.
One advantage Ghana have is that they will know more about their opponents than vice versa, thanks to their Serbian coach Milovan Rajevic, who insists that he has no divided loyalties.
“I am 100 percent Ghanaian. I am a professional, my primary target is to win against Serbia and to qualify,” he said.
Meanwhile, the White Eagles’ preparations have been hit by a change of training venue because of a worry about picking up injuries.
They switched from their practice pitch at the AW Muller Stadium in western Johannesburg to the University of Johannesburg’s rugby stadium.
“I think they put a surface down a few days ago, so the pitch has not yet laid down nicely,” said SS Lazio defender Aleksandar Kolarov, a reported target for new Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho. “The surface was a bit unstable, so we were worrying about injuries.”
However, Serbia have allegedly come up with a novel solution by employing the services of a mysterious and controversial doctor, Marijana Kovacevic, to protect them.
The daily newspaper Vecernje Novosti reported that the players have decided to pay out of their own pockets to engage Kovacevic’s alternative healing services, which reportedly include a special gel made from horse placentas, as their Federation was not convinced.
“Our players wanted her as a part of the team, but Serbia’s football federation has rejected the call,” the daily quoted a source close to the national squad as saying.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but