Next in our Euro 2024 Fantasy team previews, we take a look at Serbia in Group C.
Although technically it’s their debut in this competition as an independent nation, we’ve previously seen heavily Serbian versions of Yugoslavia compete on numerous occasions. The last of these was at Euro 2000, featuring current head coach Dragan Stojkovic in midfield.
In these country-by-country guides, we’ll be looking at the best players from each nation, taking a stab at predicted line-ups, reviewing the road to Germany and more.
To do this, we’ll be calling on the help of correspondents from each nation.
Here, we enlist the assistance of Bogdan Skerlic (aka theodosios) and Marko Đukić (aka Kughat, who is also on X here). Our huge thanks to them both for their time.
All prices given are from the official Fantasy Euro 2024 game.
THE ROAD TO QUALIFICATION
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hungary | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 7 | +9 | 18 |
| 2 | Serbia | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 9 | +6 | 14 |
| 3 | Montenegro | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 11 | -2 | 11 |
| 4 | Lithuania | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 14 | -6 | 6 |
| 5 | Bulgaria | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 14 | -7 | 4 |
There was a sense of disappointment with the manner in which Serbia qualified.
Given a nice-looking group, they lost twice to Hungary and had to come from behind to draw both meetings with last-placed Bulgaria.
This means they only defeated Lithuania and neighbours Montenegro. Two late goals from substitute Dusan Vlahovic grabbed a win against the latter, whilst Aleksandar Mitrovic netted a hat-trick in Kaunas.
It’s handy having such attacking depth to bail them out of tricky situations: 28-goal Mitrovic ended this Saudi Pro League season as its second-highest scorer and Vlahovic’s 16 were only bettered by Lautaro Martinez in Serie A.
But the public mood is noticeably different from 2022. Then, genuine pre-World Cup optimism soon came crashing down when they finished bottom of Group G despite taking 3-1 and 2-1 leads over Cameroon and Switzerland.
Now, they’re about to face Slovenia – another country appearing for the first time since 2000. They played out a 3-3 classic in Charleroi back then and, more recently, met twice in the 2022/23 Nations League. Serbia won 4-1, then drew 2-2.
There’s also history with Denmark, as Yugoslavia’s last-minute disqualification in 1992 allowed the Danes to fill in and – incredibly – go all the way.
QUALIFICATION IN NUMBERS
- Most starts: Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, Nemanja Gudelj (8)
- Most goals: Aleksandar Mitrovic (5)
- Most assists: Dusan Tadic (4)
- Clean sheets: 2 from 8
RECORD SINCE QUALIFYING
| Date | Competition | Opposition | Result | Score | Goalscorers | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 March | Friendly | Russia (a) | L | 0-4 | ||
| 25 March | Friendly | Cyprus (a) | W | 1-0 | S Milinkovic-Savic | Samardzic |
Similarly unconvincing were Serbia’s springtime friendlies in Russia and Cyprus. The first one was heavily impacted by Milan Gajic’s early red card, on a day when Stojkovic wanted to try a four-man defence.
It’s a formation he also used away to Hungary but there was a return to wing-backs four days later. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic scored the only goal and Mitrovic – shock, horror – missed a penalty.
MOST RECENT INTERNATIONAL LINE-UPS
21/03/2024 – Russia (a)
[4-3-3] Petrovic; Gajic, Erakovic, Pavlovic, Mladenovic (Masovic 57); Lukic, Zdjelar (Kostic 57), Tadic (Mijailovic 46); Zivkovic (Mitrovic 46), Jovic (Samardzic 73), Gacinovic (S Milinkovic-Savic 46)
25/03/2024 – Cyprus (a)
[3-4-2-1] Rajkovic; Babic, Masovic (Erakovic 85), Milenkovic; Zivkovic, Mijailovic, Lukic (Tadic 46), Kostic (Zdjelar 63); Samardzic (Jovic 46), S Milinkovic-Savic (Bazdar 76); Mitrovic (Gacinovic 63)
UPCOMING FIXTURES
| Date | Competition | Opposition |
|---|---|---|
| 4 June | Friendly | Austria (a) |
| 8 June | Friendly | Sweden (a) |
GROUP FIXTURES
- 16 June: England
- 20 June: Slovenia
- 25 June: Denmark
HOW FAR WILL THEY GET?
STAY TUNED FOR MORE EURO 2024 COVERAGE!
A reminder that we’ll be covering the European Championship in great detail this summer.
Part of that coverage will be the usual team-by-team guides on all competing 24 nations in Euro 2024.
But we’ll also have team reveals, strategy guides and much more. The official UEFA Fantasy game will be the main game we’re covering, which you read about below:
There’ll also be £500+ worth of prizes if you join our mini-league! Click the below to sign up:
If you want to be part of our coverage and are a fan of one of the countries competing, do get involved via the below:
