Match Report: Serbia v Belarus

Zoran Tosic looks to have a big future at Manchester United. The little Serb ran the midfield in what was a game full of life but which ultimately ended with few clear-cut chances.

With Cristiano Ronaldo depafted to Madrid, Tosic showed that we could one-day fill his boots with a performance of creative passing, fleet-footed running and an abundance of skill. Like Ronaldo he floated between the right, the left and often found himself upfront.

With a large group of their Sweden-based fans behind the goal, Serbia would have felt as though this was a home fixture but despite the best attempts of the crowd the game petered out into a goalless draw, the second in succession for Serbia. Slobodan Krcmarevic, the Serbian coach said: "I cannot be satisfied with everything, we had initiaitve throughout the game but we were not on the top level in the last third of the pitch. I know that we have top class players but we were not good in the final actions."

After a quiet first 10 minutes the game suddenly burst into life with chances at either end. First Sergei Krivets, the Belarus captain, forced a good save from Zeljko Brkic in the Serbia goal with a dipping shot. 

Then Zoran Tosic raced up the other end and cut inside onto his left-foot, his low shot was heading for the bottom right corner, but Pavel Chesnovski managed to get an unconvincing hand on it to turn it wide.

Gojko Kacar and Tosic were starting to dominate the Belorussians towards the end of the first half, but they could not manage to make a breakthrough.

The second half started in much the same vain. Belarus were limited to quick breaks and long shots, while Serbia looked to capitalise on Tosic's setpieces.

Serbia's best chance of the night came in the 81st minute. Tosic curled a free-kick onto the head of Kacar who headed it into the path of Vukovic. The defender managed to somehow lift it over the keeper but also the bar from just two yards out, it was surely easier to score.

That proved to be the last clear-cut chance of the match although a few Belarus hearts skipped a beat in the dying  seconds as Tosic lined up a free-kick from just outside the box, but his dipping effort landed on the roof of the net with Chesnovski beaten. 

The results means Belarus will take no further part in the tournament, while Serbia go into their next match against Sweden knowing that only a win will see them progress. Sweden, meanwhile, only need a draw to make it through to the semi-finals.

Serbia coach, Slobodan Krcmarevic was no overly concerned that his team now have to beat Sweden to qualify, he said: "I don't think that the fact they only need one point against us is a big advantage for them because in a match like that everything is open and one goal can change the situation. We need a victory of course and I still believe that we have very good qualities individually and I still think we have a very good team and we will be much better than today."

Meanwhile Italy beat hosts Sweden by two goals to one. Italy took the lead through Mario Balotelli (pictured) after 23 minutes, who was sent-off for a kicking out 15 minutes later. Robert Aquafresca added a second and Ola Toivonen pulled one back in the final minute but it wasn't enough for the Swedes who drop to second in the group.

Photo Credit: Segnaleorario