FIFA 2010 World Cup Draw: Germany, Their Group, Schedule, and Chances

The draw results are out and to be honest, all the groups seem to be quite even. Germany's draw is a tougher one compared to the 2006 World Cup draw. Let's take a look at the German's group then:

Group D: Germany, Australia, Ghana, Serbia

First of all, let's take a look at Germany themselves:

Qualification:

Everything went smoothly as they won eight out of their ten games. Surprisingly, both their draws came against Finland. Miroslav Klose (what's new?) was their top scorer in qualifying with seven goals.

Current Squad:

I can go on and on about this. However, the Germany you are about to see could be slightly different because more and more creative attacking players are coming in: the likes of Marko Marin, Mesut Ozil, Andreas Beck, Marcel Schafer and Aaron Hunt could all be part of next year's World Cup.

There are solid players such as the evergreen Michael Ballack, Simon Rolfes, Jerome Boateng, and Per Mertesacker. There will also be other seasoned campaingers provided that everything goes well and that nobody will get injured- i.e- Klose, Podolski, Lahm, Schweinsteiger and others. Rene Adler will most probably go in as Germany's no:1. Let's not forget Mario Gomez, Patrick Helmes and Stefan Kiessling.

Coach:

They are as we all know are caoched by Joachim Loew. I like him to a certain extent. I also like his assistant Hansi Flick.

Germany vs Australia:

Past Meetings:

In terms of past meetings, the 1974 World Cup springs into mind. Germany, back then, were divided into two, the East and West. Both, East and West Germany managed to defeat Australia. The West beat out the Socceroos 3-0. The goals were scored by Wolfgang Overath, Bernd Cullmann and the legendary Gerd Mueller. Collin Curran scored an win goal  while the well-known Joachim Streich scored another in the correct net as the East beat out the Australians 2-0.

As far as a recent meeting is concerned, Germany and Australia faced off in the 2005 Confederations Cup. In that occasion, the Germans won on home soil, 4-3. The German goals came via Ballack, Podolski, Kuranyi and Per Mertesacker while John Aloisi scored twice and Josip Skoko scored once for the Aussies.

Qualifying:

Australia went through their campaign smoothly. They were unbeaten in eight games, and they won six of those games. They topped their group.

Current Squad :

The Australians have Tim Cahill within their ranks. Mark Schwarzer is definitely a familiar name and Lucas Neill, the captain will not give in too easily to the Kloses and Podolskis. Harry Kewell is another player to watch out. The German players, especially the Bayern ones might be familiar with Dario Vidosic who plays for Nuremberg.

Coach:

They are currently coached by Pim Verbeek.

Verdict:

Australia will make a fist of their game and maybe the Germans will need to do what Francesco Totti did in 2006 to beat the Aussies.

Germany vs Ghana:

Past meetings:

The most recent meetings between the sides came at youth level with both sides winning on one occasion.

Qualifying:

Ghana won four of their six matches and lost the other two. They finished top of their group.

Current Squad:

Ghana have a squad with quite a few European based players, with Michael Essien being the most well known one. Stephen Appiah, the captain plays for Bologna in Italy. Sulley Muntari, another well known figure, plays for Inter, Asomoah Gyan for Rennes and Kwadwo Asamoah for Udinese. The list of Europe based players doesn't end there though.

One player who the Germans will be particularly familiar with is Isaac Vorsah. The Hoffenheim defender has given some very good performances for his club this season.

Also belonging to Hoffenheim, Prince Tagoe will be another familier name to the Germans albeit for a very different reason. Prince Tagoe's Hoffenheim deal was almost cancelled due to a heart problem. He is not playing currently and could be reinstated, if he passes his medical tests. He will be looking for revenge against his German employers by beating Germany.

A familiar name for EPL fans will be Sunderland player John Mensah, who serves as vice captain of Ghana.

If Jerome Boateng and his half brother Kevin Prince- Boateng have their way, they could be facing off against each other in the World Cup next June.

Coach:

They are currently coached by Milovan Rajevac

Verdict:

With millions of vuvuzelas blowing and with millions of fans behind them, Ghana will definitely go for the upset. Germany could be in trouble against Ghana. However, due to their never-say-die attitude, the Germans could win this one.

Germany vs Serbia:

Past meetings:

The most recent meeting between these two nations took place prior to Euro 2008. Germany beat Serbia by 2 goals to 1. In a game watched by German chancellor Angela Merkel, Serbia opened the scoring through Bosko Jankovic. However, Germany were not to be denied a win and Oliver Neuville equalized suring the second half. Michael Ballack grabbed the winner. 

Qualifying Campaign:

Serbia had an excellent campaign. They beat out Les Blues and Romania to top their group. They lost twice, won seven times and drew once in ten games.

Current Squad:

They have quite a few Germany based players in their ranks including Gojko Kacar from Hertha Berlin, Zdravko Kuzmanovic from Stuttgart, Neven Subotic from Borussia Dortmund and Antonio Rukavina from 1860 Munchen. Marko Pantelic used to play for Hertha Berlin.

Nemanja Vidic, Dejan Stankovic, Nikola Zigic. Branislav Ivanovic and Zoran Tosic are all familiar names. Arsenal fans will definitely be familiar with Milan Jovanovic from Standard Liege. The list of good players doesn't end here. One player who stands out for me is Milos Krasic. He is extremely talented and is doing very well at CSKA Moscow

Coach:

Radomir Antic is their current coach.

Verdict:

Hmmm..Serbia could potentially turn out to be a very tricky opponent.

Hopefully, Germany will win the group. It will be a tough one and Germany will need to be on top form to keep their opponents at bay.Afterwards, anything might happen. It's 19 years since Germany last won the World Cup. Hopefully, the Jules Rimet trophy will be heading to Berlin come July next year.

Finally, GO GERMANY!