Serbia kept alive their World Cup hopes with a dramatic 1-0 win over 10-man Germany at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
Klose off as Jovanovic gives Serbia famous win
Serbia kept alive their World Cup hopes with a dramatic 1-0 win over 10-man Germany at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
Germany striker Miroslav Klose was controversially sent off by Spanish referee Alberto Undiano for two bookable offences after 37 minutes.
A minute later Serbia broke the deadlock with Milan Jovanovic firing home from Nikola Zigic's knockdown.
Germany wasted a great chance to draw level on the hour mark when Lukas Podolski saw his penalty saved by Serbia keeper Vladimir Stojkovic after Nemanja Vidic inexplicably handled the ball inside the box.
Serbia could have added to their lead with Jovanovic and Zigic both hitting the woodwork in the second half as they moved level on points with Germany in Group D.
Germany arrived in Port Elizabeth having established themselves among the favourites to win the tournament once again following a crushing 4-0 defeat of Australia in their first game, but with coach Joachim Low insisting he had not been completely satisfied by their performance in Durban.
Low's mood will have darkened considerably after an opening 45 minutes in Port Elizabeth during which little went right for his team.
Fireworks
Podolski blasted a seventh-minute volley just wide, but in a largely uninspiring first half, the fireworks came in the last nine minutes.
Spanish referee Undiano had issued the first of six yellow cards to Klose for a foul on Branislav Ivanovic with just 12 minutes gone, and it was the Germany striker who also collected the final caution of the opening 45 minutes for a trip on Serbia skipper Dejan Stankovic.
Things were to deteriorate further for the Germans within two minutes when impressive winger Milos Krasic picked out 6ft 6in striker Zigic at the far post and he headed down for Jovanovic to control in front of goal and steer the ball past stranded Germany keeper Manuel Neuer.
Low's men belatedly responded with midfielder Sami Khedira firing against the underside of the crossbar and Thomas Muller forcing a goal-line clearance from Aleksandar Kolarov with his follow-up in injury time, but Serbia held out.
Werder Bremen midfielder Mesut Ozil, who had started the game playing behind Klose, found himself pushed further forward after the break, but it was Podolski who shot across the face of goal within a minute of the restart.
For all they were a man short, it was Germany who made the running during the opening minutes of the second half, and it took a last-ditch challenge by Nemanja Vidic to prevent Bastian Schweinsteiger from collecting Philipp Lahm's superb 54th-minute through ball.
Stojkovic spilled Schweinsteiger's well-struck shot seconds later and was grateful to see Podolski fire wide of the far post under pressure from Ivanovic with the Germans turning the screw.
Penalty
But Stojkovic came to the rescue on the hour when, after Vidic had needlessly handled in the area, he dived to his left to save Podolski's spot-kick.
Serbia might have increased their lead, but Jovanovic's 67th-minute shot came back off the post and Zigic's header clipped the bar seven minutes later with Neuer beaten.
Stojkovic had to turn away substitute Marko Marin's deflected shot with 12 minutes remaining, but there was no way back for the Germans.
| Germany |
Team Statistics |
Serbia |
| 0 |
Goals |
1 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
1 |
| 2 |
Shots on Target |
1 |
| 9 |
Shots off Target |
9 |
| 5 |
Blocked Shots |
0 |
| 7 |
Corners |
1 |
| 19 |
Fouls |
10 |
| 3 |
Offsides |
4 |
| 3 |
Yellow Cards |
4 |
| 1 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 84.3 |
Passing Success |
83 |
| 17 |
Tackles |
18 |
| 94.1 |
Tackles Success |
61.1 |
| 58.1 |
Possession |
41.9 |
| 55.2 |
Territorial Advantage |
44.8 |
|
