It would seem to be a formality that Germany will be in the knockout rounds of the World Cup yet again, and after the ease with which they qualified, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them breeze through Group D.

However, on paper, their road to the knockout rounds looks a lot tougher than their road to the World Cup. Both Australia and Ghana made the round of 16 in the 2006 World Cup, and after their successes in Germany last time around, they’ll be looking for successes against Germany in South Africa.

Those teams will also have to contend with rising Serbia, whose feat of topping a qualifying group that included France makes them a team to watch for in June.

Group D