German boss Low braced for backlash from proud Serbia

GERMANY boss Joachim Low has warned his players not to be caught out by a Serbia backlash today 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 last 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 today’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.”

Germany’s display against Australia showcased the talents of youngsters Thomas Mueller and Holger Badstuber as a new generation of international stars began to emerge in earnest.

Mueller in particular shone in a midfield robbed of the services of captain Michael Ballack through injury, but Low is confident he has the talent within his squad to cope with the loss of any player.

He said: “Michael Ballack is a world-class player and he has helped this team a great deal.

“But we have had one match here and we have seen you can compensate for the loss of such a player and share the burden.

“We have got a strong team with or without Michael Ballack, with or without any other player.

“We have got to be in a position to replace any player at any time, and we have got good solutions.”

The quality of Germany’s opening performance has inevitably seen the odds on a lengthy stay in South Africa increase markedly, although their coach is not about to allow himself to be carried away.

Indeed, for all he was delighted with much of what he saw in Durban, he insists there is room for improvement today.

He said: “We have looked at the match against Australia and while we won 4-0, I wasn’t perfectly happy with our game in all areas.

“We were not 100% satisfied. There were some cases where I think we could have done better, where there is room for improvement, and that’s what I pointed out to the team.

“Over the past four days, we have tried to work on these weaknesses.

“But I don’t think the players will be complacent just because of one good win against Australia.

“My players have been very focused in their preparation for the next match. They left the Australia match behind after a very short period and started to concentrate on the second match.”

For his part, 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 Germans.

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 tomorrow.

“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.’’