Radomir Antic says - I have faith in Serbia players

Serbia manager Radomir Antic is confident his side can cope with the German attack which decimated Australia in Durban on Sunday night in the first significant statement of intent from any of the major contenders for the 2010 World Cup.






Goals from Miroslav Klose, Lukas Podolski, Thomas Muller and Cacau, as well as a mesmerising performance from Werder Bremen playmaker Mesut Ozil, ripped Pim Verbeek’s side to shreds just hours after Serbia lost to a late Ghana penalty to get their own campaign off to the worst possible start.
But Antic, the only man to have coached Real and Atletico Madrid as well as Barcelona, is happy that his defence have the experience to withstand even a sustained barrage from Joachim Low’s free-wheeling side.“You saw against Ghana that we did not have many problems in (the defensive) part of the pitch, despite the result,” said Antic. “I trust my defence, absolutely, and the rest of my team.
“We were very good in qualifying, and it was in those matches against big teams [France and Romania] that we showed we could play well on such occasions, that we could show the real quality we have.”
Antic’s side will need to be at their very best against a German side bound to have confidence after their display against Australia if they are to retain any hope of progressing to a potential last-16 tie with England.
He is likely to stand by his central defensive partnership of Nemanja Vidic and Branislav Ivanovic, with the highly-rated Aleksandar Kolarov continuing at left-back.
The dismissal of Aleksandar Lukovic, the Udinese full-back, against Ghana will present Antic with a slight selection dilemma, but the veteran manager insists the player’s World Cup is far from over.
“He had a very good game, apart from the sending off,” he said.