Preview: The two first glance picks in Group G are Argentina and the Netherlands, but
Serbia and Montenegro is a very good team and look to be a serious contender.
The country is one of the several new post Cold War nations making their debut
at the 2006 World Cup (also see Czech Republic, Ukraine). Serbia's parent
country Yugoslavia had a very strong soccer tradition.
Serbia and Montenegro had a blazing run in qualifiers, allowing only 1 goal
in 10 games, and that wasin a draw at Spain. Youth and defense are the defining
charecteristics of this squad, with Mladen Krstajic and Nemanja Vidic as the
stars of a very deep defense. Both are top defenders in the Bundesliga,
and the English Premiership, respectively. The team will likely lock in to
a defensive style of play in their bid to make it out of Group C. The sole
striker in this formation is likely to be Mateja Kezman who has enjoyed huge success
at PSV Eindhoven
Result: Defense was supposed to be the strength of the Serbian squad in
2006. In fact their back line was nicknamed the "Famous Four"
prior to the tournament. In a disasterous showing Serbia and Montenegro
led the tournament in goals allowed, with 10 in just matches, most notably a 6-0 defeat
by Argentina.
