World Cup: Group D Preview

Australia, Germany, Ghana, Serbia

As expected, three-time champions and perennial powerhouse Germany stand out as the clear-cut favorite in Group D. However, the other three participants –Serbia, Ghana and Australia- also finished atop their respective World Cup qualifying groups, proving that there will be no easy matches at this stage of the game. While the Germans have history on their side, the Black Stars of Ghana will undoubtedly benefit from the local support. Whether it’ll be enough to prevail over Serbia in the battle for second place remains to be seen. Considered the long shot of Group D, Australia makes up for their lack of pure skill with a hard-nosed style of soccer sure to cause numerous headaches for opponents.

FIFA Ranking: 20

Coach: Pim Verbeek (Holland)

World Cup Appearances: 3; advanced to the round of 16 in 2006

Intro: Feeling the need to progress as a soccer nation (and avoid the obligatory two-leg playoff series to make the World Cup as Oceania’s sole representative), Australia petitioned for and was granted entry into the Asian Football Federation four years ago. It wasn’t until the 2010 qualifying campaign, however, that the ‘Socceroos’ were able to compete in Asia. In their new confederation, they earned 20 out of 24 possible points to lead Group A, becoming one of the first countries to secure a spot in South Africa. Eager to prove themselves on the biggest stage of them all, the Australians won three consecutive games in preparation for the World Cup before losing their final warm-up match against United States last Saturday.

WATCH: AUSTRALIA: TEAM PROFILE

WATCH:AUSTRALIA: ROAD TO THE WORLD CUP

Star Power: For a team that spends most games in their own half of the field, it’s comforting for the ‘Socceroos’ to have sure-handed goalie Mark Schwarzer holding down the fort. Another key element in the backline is Lucas Neill, a multifaceted defender who can play on the right flank or in the center. Australia does have options in attack, but they’ll be much more dangerous offensively if Harry Kewell, a teammate of Neill at Galatasaray, can return to match fitness after suffering a groin injury suffered in January.

MLS Connection: Danny Allsopp has earned a handful of national team call-ups, but he never got a shot at participating in World Cup qualifying. This couldn’t have come as a surprise to the D.C. United striker, whose performance during a match against Indonesia earlier this year was called “absolutely hopeless” by coach Pim Verbeek.

FIFA Ranking: 6

Coach: Joachim Low (Germany)

World Cup Appearances: 16; won the World Cup in 1954, 1974 and 1990 (as West Germany)

Intro: Although Deutschland clearly isn’t the same team without injured captain Michael Ballack, head coach Joachim Low still has plenty of quality players at his disposal. That includes several holdovers from the squad that finished third in 2006. This has been made abundantly clear during recent matches in the lead up to the World Cup, with convincing results over Hungary (3-0) and Bosnia-Herzegovina (3-1). Simply put, winning is in the Germans’ DNA, and they are legitimate candidates to not only win the group stage, but also to go all the way.

WATCH: GERMANY: TEAM PROFILE

WATCH:GERMANY: ROAD TO THE WORLD CUP

Star Power: A natural leader and one of the best fullbacks in the planet, Phillip Lahm was an obvious choice to take over captain duties from Ballack. Meanwhile, the Teuton attack will be led by another Bayern Munich standout, Bastian Schweinsteiger, whose blazing runs and precise crosses should provide plenty of goal scoring opportunities for Lukas Podolski, who has replaced Miroslav Klose (who will also be at the tournament) as Germany’s go-to forward.

MLS Connection: The last time Germany won the World Cup, in 1990, they were captained by Lothar Matthaus, who ended his otherwise brilliant career with a forgettable stint in MLS with the Metrostars.

FIFA Ranking: 32

Coach: Milovan Rajevac (Serbia)

Previous World Cup Appearances: 1; finished in the round of 16 in 2006

Intro: It’s impossible to underestimate what the loss of Michael Essien means for Ghana, after he was unable to recover from a knee injury suffered during the African Cup of Nations earlier this year. Fortunately, they were able to advance to the final in January without the Chelsea midfielder, and will also be one of the clear fan favorites during the much more difficult World Cup, where the overwhelming crowd support could be a deciding factor in favor of the Black Stars. Although a recent 4-1 drubbing at the hands of Holland undoubtedly hurt Ghana’s morale, Milovan Rajevac’s side was able to recover in their final World Cup tune-up with a 1-0 win over Latvia.

WATCH:GHANA: TEAM PROFILE

WATCH:GHANA: ROAD TO THE WORLD CUP

Star Power: With an impressive 20 goals in 32 national team appearances, including the fastest goal at the 2006 World Cup (68 seconds), Rennes forward Asamoah Gyan is Ghana’s main offensive threat. Meanwhile, leadership responsibilities will fall on the shoulders of veteran Stephen Appiah, currently with Italian side Bologna and a mainstay of the Black Stars since the mid ‘90s. Another midfielder, Kwadwo Asamoah, is a rising star at Udinese and was also his country’s breakout performer during the past African Cup of Nations.

MLS Connection: For years a popular destination among scouts in search of unknown and raw talent, Ghana has exported many players throughout the world. MLS hasn’t been an exception, and there are currently five Ghanaian-born players in the league: Salou Ibrahim (Red Bulls), Patrick Nyarko (Chicago Fire), Emmanuel Osei (Revolution), Dominic Oduro and Samuel Appiah (Houton Dynamo)

FIFA Ranking: 16

Coach: Radomir Antic (Serbia)

World Cup Appearances: 11; finished 4th in 1930 and 1962 (as Yugoslavia); finished last in 2006 as Serbia and Montenegro.

Intro: With an average player height of 6-foot-1, Serbia is the tallest team in the World Cup. They’re also playing for the first time without Montenegro, now an independent country. Nobody regrets that decision in the sports world, as the combined Balkan nation finished dead last in Germany 2006, with three loses and a minus-8 goal difference. Things can only get better in South Africa, where many experts have even labeled Serbia a serious candidate to reach the latter stages of the tournament. However, a surprise loss in a friendly against New Zealand last week raised doubts and infuriated fans, who rioted in the stands at Worthersee Stadium in Austria following the match. Fortunately, things improved slightly with a 4-3 victory over Cameroon a few days later.

WATCH:SERBIA: TEAM PROFILE

WATCH:SERBIA: ROAD TO THE WORLD CUP

Star Power: Widely recognized as one of the finest center backs in the world, Manchester United’s Nemanja Vidic[WATCH: PLAYER PROFILE] will be anchoring a solid defense that surely learned its lession after the debacle in Germany four years ago. Meanwhile, captain Dejan Stankovic, currently with European champs Inter and a fixture in Italy’s serie A for over a decade, will be competing in his third World Cup. Despite not seeing any playing time with Liverpool this year, Milan Jovanovic stayed productive in the international scene and established himself as Serbia’s top scorer during World Cup qualifying with five goals.

MLS Connection: Of the 23 men on Serbia’s World Cup roster, eight of them played at one time or another for the country’s most popular team: Red Star Belgrade. The same goes for New England Revolution striker Marko Perovic, as well as current Toronto FC head coach and two-time MLS MVP Preki.

Group Dynamics: You’ll be hard-pressed to find any World Cup preview without Germany as the projected winner of Group D. Whereas Ghana’s loss of Essein may turn out to be an irrecoverable blow for the Black Stars, Die Mannschaft has enough depth and talent to cope with the absence of Ballack. Second place is anybody’s guess, although the battle for the final qualifying slot will likely be waged between local favorite Ghana and Serbia. But Australia -who passed the first round and gave eventual champs Italy a run for their money during the knockout stage in 2006 - could play spoiler.

Don’t Miss This Match: With Germany essentially a lock to take first place, all eyes will be on the Ghana-Serbia game on June 13th, the first match day of Group D. Neither team can leave anything to chance in their World Cup debut, as the three points up for grabs will be critical in determining their chances of advancing, particularly since both will have to face Germany later on in the group stage.

Full Schedule (all times ET)

June 13th: Serbia vs. Ghana (10:00 a.m.); Germany vs. Australia (2:30 p.m.)

June 18th: Germany vs. Serbia (7:30 a.m.)

June 19th: Ghana vs. Australia (10:00 a.m.)

June 23rd: Ghana vs. Germany (2:30 p.m.); Australia vs. Serbia (2:30 p.m.)

MLSsoccer.com Prediction

1. Germany

2. Serbia

3. Ghana

4. Australia