Serbia

Appearances at World Cup finals: As Yugoslavia – 9. As Serbia and Montenegro – 1. As Serbia, this is their debut.

Best ever performance: 4th place in both 1950 and 1962, as Yugoslavia.

Famous moment in WC history: The 1962 World Cup in which Yugoslavia beat West Germany in the quarter finals before losing to Czechoslovakia in the semis and finishing 4th, a personal best.

The Lowdown: Science. Economics. Formulas. Who needs them? Wide-eyed optimistic Serbians might, after a recent formula based on economic data that takes into account GDP predicted the 2010 World Cup final will see Brazil take on… that’s right, Serbia. The study, conducted by Professor Stefan Szymanski and football writer Simon Kuper, will please Serbs everywhere but should perhaps not be taken too seriously. In a tough group alongside Australia, Ghana and Germany, they’ll be pleased just to get through and take it from there.

That said, Serbia are not to be underestimated. They’re a team I like and could well be a dark horse to go quite far in this tournament. There are several top players in key positions. Nemanja Vidic and Branislav Ivanovic maraud menacingly in defence all clenched fists and mean stares, like Ivan Dragos in football shirts.

Milos Krasic, reportedly in talks with Juventus, is for all intents and purposes the heir apparent to Pavel Nedved, but Serbian. Dejan Stankovic is a classy midfield player with proven pedigree. Marko Pantelic has been in prolific goalscoring form for Ajax. And Zoran Tosic is a useful wildcard, capable of something different, a spark down the left wing. Not to mention Liverpool-bound Milan Jovanovic, Serbia’s top scorer in qualifying.

Though poor form in the build-up to South Africa has provided cause for concern (and angry scenes as fans expressed their outrage at a recent 1-0 defeat to New Zealand), Serbia under shrewd coach Radomir Antic have many useful strings to their bow. Defensively stubborn, they barely concede from set pieces yet are masters of the art at the other end. Over 1/3rd of their goals in qualifying came from free kicks or corners.

Remaining tight at the back and threatening from set plays could be decisive in what is virtually an entire group of pragmatists, but as with Germany, Serbia appear to have more matchwinners in their team than either Ghana or Australia. Birmingham City-bound Nicola Zigic is yet another joker in the pack for Antic, who certainly has plenty of options.

Qualification: Topping their qualifying group ahead of France with a game to spare was as much a surprise to Serbia’s players as it was to many other onlookers, with Dejan Stankovic pointing out he would have thought it a wind-up had someone had suggested such an outcome beforehand. But it was richly deserved for a campaign well played by Antic’s side, who offered skill, solidity and consistency in qualifying, despite a shaky start to the campaign. 3-0 and 5-0 thrashings of Lithuania and Romania respectively were particular highlights.

Top scorer in qualifying: Milan Jovanovic – 5 goals.

All-time World Cup finals top scorer: Ivan Bek (1930), Kosta Tomasevic (1950) and Todor Veselinovic (1958) – 3 each, for Yugoslavia.

The Manager: Radomir Antic. A charismatic and popular coach with an impressive CV, taking in managerial stints at Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid amongst others. His appointment has coincided with an upturn in fortunes for Serbia’s national team, and not by chance.

Key Player: Nemanja Vidic. A truly world class centre back, Vidic missed the entire World Cup 2006 through a mix of both injury and suspension, a huge blow to the Serbs as he was absolutely central to the miserly defence that set a new record in European qualifying by conceding just 1 goal in 10 games. The desire to make up for lost time burns inside him.

One to Watch: Milos Krasic. If you don’t know about him already you soon will, a top player in the making. The CSKA Moscow winger managed 7 assists and 2 goals in qualifying, and as well as pace, penetration and expert technique he likes to shoot from long range and packs a mean shot. As I stated in an article a few months back, one of the Champions League 09/10’s star players. A class act.

On the move?: Krasic looks to be on his way. Zoran Tosic could be on his way out of Manchester United after a loan spell at FC Koln in Germany. Jovanovic is on his way, to Anfield.