The final matches for the Group D bracket will take place on Wednesday between Australia vs Serbia in Nelspruit and Ghana vs Germany in Johannesburg at 2:30pm EST (20:30) while Slovenia vs England and the USA vs Algeria will have concluded the Group C bracket at 10:00am EST (16:00). Online bookmakers have Serbia -125 money line favorites vs Australia +315 in World Cup betting picks while a draw would return +260. Serbia are also -1 goal (+155) favorites in point-spread World Cup odds vs Australia +1 goal (-200) with the over/under total sitting at 2.5 UNDER (-155). While the Socceroos are longshots, they are in contention to cause some drama in Group D.
Australia lost to Germany 0-4 in their opening round match but held bracket leaders Ghana to a 1-1 draw to find themselves in a must win situation with only one point. Ghana leads Group D with 4-points with Germany and Serbia tied for second with 3-points followed by Australia. Two players that will play a pivotal role in whether or not the Socceroos will have the chance to reach the round of 16 will be Aleksandar Lukovic, who will return to the starting line-up after being sent off vs Germany and Tim Cahill. "We are going make sure if we go down, we go down with a fight," said captain Lucas Neill this week. "We are going to make sure we fight to the very end to give us the opportunity of keeping our dream alive."
A team that has certainly exceeded expectations at the World Cup 2010 has been Serbia who now sits tied with Germany in second place with 3-points. Serbia opened as 66-1 longshots odds to win the South African finals and +275 longshots to win Group D but with a multiple goal performance and a little luck... they just might reach the second stage. "I am optimistic because I know how my boys have performed during their last three training sessions - these were actually the best three sessions ever. This shows their spirit and now we have an opportunity to show it." Share:
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To open World Cup match vs Germany doesn't really seem fair for any team but Australia handled the embarrassing loss by holding Ghana to a draw. Serbia on the other hand, did defeat lost to Ghana 0-1 in their opener but came back to defeat Germany 1-0 in their next match. Although Serbia has plenty of fire power, I think this game will prove to be high energy for 90 minutes which should help the Australians; not necessarily with a win but a 1-1 or 0-0 draw is realistic.