Germany had a penalty kick saved and Miroslav Klose sent off in a controversial match that saw Serbia defeat the Group D favorites, 1-0, in Port Elizabeth on Friday.
The result blows the group wide open, with Germany, Serbia and Ghana all holding three points in a three-way tie for first.
Klose was twice cautioned in the first half for clumsy challenges, which led to his ejection in the 37th minute. In all, the referee played a tight match, producing his first yellow card in the 12th minute and showing 10 throughout the full 90 minutes.
Serbia took immediate advantage of the extra man, tallying the winning strike just seconds after the red card. Milos Krasic raced the ball to the end line before lofting a weighted pass to the back post. Nikola Zigic met the cross with a header back across goal, leaving Milan Jovanovic to stab home from close range.
Germany's best chance to level came in the 60th minute when Serbia's Nemanja Vidic needlessly handled the ball in the penalty area. Lucas Podolski stepped up to take the PK, but his low, driven shot was confidently saved by 'keeper Vladimir Stojkovic.
Podolski remained Germany's most dangerous offensive weapon, but his early volley went inches wide, and his combination plays with Mesut Ozil came to nothing.
Germany also had a flurry of chances late in the first half when Khedira hit the cross bar with a half-volley before Schweinsteiger saw his overhead kick cleared off the line.
Serbia had scant opportunities to increase their lead and chose to defend their slim margin, though Jovanovic came close to doubling his tally when he hit the post midway through the second half, and Krasic continued to serve menacing balls from the right flank.
Germany countered with some late pressure, and Podolski grazed the wrong side of the post in the waning minutes, but Serbia held on to earn their first points of the tournament.
With the loss, Germany recorded their first defeat in a group match since 1986.
Scoring Summary:
SRB: Jovanovic, 38th minute
Lineups:
Germany: Neuer; Lahm, Mertesacker, Friedrich, Badstuber (Gomez); Schweinsteiger, Khedira; Mueller (Marin), Ozil (Cacau), Podolski; Klose.
Serbia: Stojkovic; Ivanovic, Vidic, Subotic, Kolarov; Krasic, Stankovic, Kuzmanovic (Petrovic), Ninkovic (Kacar); Zigic, Jovanovic .
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