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| June 16, 2006 | Friday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 19, 1427 |
Serbs in must-win situation
GELSENKIRCHEN, June 15: Savo Milosevic may have to wait longer for his 100th cap if Serbia & Montenegro opt for a taller striker in their must-win World Cup match against Argentina on Friday.
Argentina lead Group C after their 2-1 win over Ivory Coast last weekend. The Serbs lost their opener 1-0 to Netherlands and less than three points against the South Americans will probably spell the end of their campaign.
The Serb midfield should remain unchanged with Dejan Stankovic and Predrag Djordjevic operating in the centre. But 2.02-metre striker Nikola Zigic may be preferred up front to 32-year-old captain Milosevic.
Argentina could be vulnerable in the air with their relatively small centre backs Roberto Ayala and Gabriel Heinze.
The twice former champions are looking to clinch their second-round ticket on Friday.
“We can't speculate...we must take the game to them all the time and get the result that will qualify us,” Ayala told reporters.
Jose Pekerman's team have practised this week with a change in midfield designed to give them more speed up front, with Luis Gonzalez replacing ball-winner Esteban Cambiasso.
Argentina sat back after going 2-0 up against Ivory Coast in Hamburg on Saturday and relinquished the initiative for long periods of the second half.
Pekerman will almost certainly keep faith with his twin strike force of Hernan Crespo and Javier Saviola, who scored the goals that sank the Ivorians.
Serbia are handicapped by the loss of central defender Nemanja Vidic, who has been ruled out for the rest of the tournament with damaged knee ligaments.
Goran Gavrancic will move into the centre of defence to fill in, with Igor Duljaj likely to start at right back and Ognjen Koroman on the right wing.
Serbia's defensive midfielder Albert Nadj said the team must not let themselves down after a disappointing game against the Dutch.
“We are a bit shaken by Vidic's injury but ready for the upcoming challenge,” he said.
“Argentina are obviously a world class side but not invulnerable...with our passionate fans behind us anything is possible and we have to reward them with a fully committed performance.”
Probable teams:
ARGENTINA (4-3-1-2): 1-Roberto Abbondanzieri; 21-Nicolas Burdisso, 2-Roberto Ayala, 6-Gabriel Heinze, 3-Juan Pablo Sorin; 22-Luis Gonzalez, 8-Javier Mascherano, 18-Maxi Rodriguez; 10-Juan Roman Riquelme; 7-Javier Saviola, 9-Hernan Crespo.
SERBIA & MONTENEGRO (4-4-2): 1-Dragoslav Jevric; 4-Igor Duljaj, 6-Goran Gavrancic, 20-Mladen Krstajic, 3-Ivica Dragutinovic; 17-Albert Nadj, 10-Dejan Stankovic, 11-Predrag Djordjevic, 7-Ognjen Koroman; 8-Mateja Kezman, 19-Nikola Zigic.—Reuters
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