The Serbs bounced back from a disappointing defeat by Ghana in their opening Group D game to see off Joachim Low's men at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth and rekindle their hopes of making the last 16.

Liverpool-bound striker Milan Jovanovic did the damage with a 38th-minute strike shortly after Miroslav Klose had been sent off for a second bookable offence in a game which saw Spanish referee Alberto Undiano brandish nine yellow cards.

But it took a 60th-minute penalty save from former Wigan loan signing Vladimir Stojkovic to deny Lukas Podolski an equaliser and Germany a point.

Vidic said: "I feel proud. Obviously after the first game, we were disappointed. We didn't play well.

"But we had a great result against Germany, so now everything is in our hands.

"In the first game, we played a bit sloppy, and because it was the first game, maybe we were a little bit scared.

"In this game, we started aggressively, we played well, but I have to say that after the red card, we had the same game that we had against France [in qualifying].

"We got scared, we didn't play football, we were more focused on defence, and basically it was a struggle."

Struggle or not, Serbia held out to bank their first three points of the finals and a first victory over Germany since 1962, when the country was still part of the former Yugoslavia.

Vidic, literally, almost handed the Germans a way back into the game when his arm connected with the ball, but Stojkovic guessed right to spare his blushes.

The keeper said: "I thought something was going to happen, for sure, that there would be an occasion where I would have to be really concentrated, and I managed to be really concentrated over the 95 minutes.

"This is a great victory for all of us. We have shown we are a truly good team, that we believe in ourselves and we will continue in such a way."

Germany, who were so good in their 4-0 victory over Australia, now head into the final group game against Ghana without the suspended Klose and under more pressure than they might have been.

Low said: "We failed to score several times and we failed to score from the penalty, and it is difficult to come to terms with that.

"In the second half, we had four or five excellent chances and a penalty, and it's a pity we didn't take them.

"It's obvious that we are going to be under pressure, but we will make the round of 16."