Football is one of the most popular sports in the world, and Serbia has been a powerhouse for years. So it should be no surprise that their national football team is one of the best in the world. If you’re a football fan and want to see Serbia play live, now is the time. The World Cup is happening this year, and Serbia is one of the favorites to win. Follow their journey as they try to bring home the trophy this summer.
Serbia’s History
The Serbia national football team represents Serbia in international association football and has represented the country in all FIFA World Cups since its debut in 1998. The team is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia, the governing body for football in Serbia.
Serbia was one of the original six republics of Yugoslavia and made its official debut at the 1958 Belgrade Tournament, which finished as runners-up to Hungary. They qualified for their first World Cup in 1962 but were eliminated in the first round. Their best performance came at the 1974 World Cup, where they finished as runners-up with the result that remains their only world cup victory. They have also won two European Championships, first in 1991 and then again in 2007, under head coach Miroslav Klose.
The Squad
Serbia is a footballing powerhouse, and its national team is no exception. The Serbia National Football Team has won the FIFA World Cup twice (2006 and 2010) and is currently ranked 5th worldwide. They also reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup.
The Serbia National Football Team was formed in 1913 and competed in their first international tournament, where they finished in third place. In 1924, they joined FIFA, and since then, they have been one of the top teams in Europe. They made their debut at the World Cup in 1934, where they were eliminated in the group stage. However, they qualified for the next World Cup four years later (1938), where they reached the quarter-finals. They went one better at the following World Cup (1974), reaching the semi-finals.
In 2006, Serbia became world champions after defeating France 3-1 in the final. This was their second victory at a World Cup; their first was back in 1986 when they defeated Argentina 4-0 in the final. In 2010, Serbia again reached the final but was beaten 2-0 by Spain.
Despite reaching two consecutive World Cups finals, Serbia has been relatively unsuccessful since 2006. They failed to qualify for Euro 2012 and 2016 despite being undefeated in qualifying matches – finishing on top of their group both times but losing out on away goals rule deciding matches against Denmark and Hungary, respectively (Denmark winning
Key Players
Serbia National Football Team
The Serbia national football team represents Serbia in international association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia. They have appeared in five World Cups, reaching the semi-finals on two occasions (1985 and 2009) and finishing as runners-up once (1998). As of March 2019, they are ranked seventh in the FIFA World Rankings.
The Serbian national football team traces its roots back to 1903 when a short-lived national football club was founded. The first official game played by the team was against Hungary in Budapest on 6 October 1903, ending in a 3–3 draw. The first home game played by the team was against Romania on 25 October 1903, ending in a 4–1 victory.
The first international tournament played by Serbia was the Balkan Championship, where they finished second behind Bulgaria. They competed in their first European Championship in 1937, finishing fourth after being eliminated from the competition in the quarter-finals against eventual champions Czechoslovakia. They qualified for their second European Championship three years later but were again eliminated from the competition at the quarter-finals stage, this time against Romania.
After World War II, Serbia started to play competitive international matches again, qualifying for their first FIFA World Cup in 1950. In their tournament opening game, they faced England and lost 1–0 after being reduced to 10 men following an altercation between players and officials before halftime. They reached the semi-finals of their next two tournaments (1958 and
The Tournament
Serbia qualified for the 2018 World Cup by winning their qualifying group.
The team is coached by Mladen Krstajic, who took over in 2016. They play their home games at the Stadio Nacional in Belgrade. Their first competitive match after qualifying was a 1-0 win over Moldova on 6 September 2017. They then lost 2-1 to Argentina in their opening World Cup qualification tournament match but bounced back with a 3-0 win over Hungary. Serbia finished third in their qualification group and will face Croatia in a playoff for the third spot to determine who goes to the World Cup.
Predictions for the Tournament
Looking ahead to the upcoming World Cup in Russia, we’ve tried to make some predictions about how the Serbian team will do.
First of all, Serbia’s squad is very young and inexperienced, with only five players who have more than 50 caps. However, this inexperience could work in their favor if they can avoid any high-intensity clashes early on in the tournament.
Secondly, Serbia has a strong midfield featuring Nemanja Matic, Filip Djuricic, and Luka Milivojevic. They will likely provide the backbone of their offense and will be relied on to keep opponents quiet.
However, Serbia’s defense is a concern – they have only three players with over 50 caps between them and have been struggling to qualify for recent tournaments. They may struggle against stronger teams who can score goals from open play.
Conclusion
Serbia made it to the semi-finals of the World Cup for the first time in their history. This journey started with qualifying, where they finished second in their group and then easily dispatched Hungary 3-0 on aggregate. In the second round, they faced Croatia, ranked number one in the world.
Despite being down a man after 63 minutes due to an offsides call, Serbia managed to hold on thanks to two goals from Aleksandar Mitrovic in extra time. Serbia then went on to face France in what was arguably the most anticipated match of the tournament. Unfortunately for them, France pulled off an upset by winning 2-1 after extra time. The final match is scheduled for Sunday against either Belgium or England, which would give Serbia its first-ever World Cup trophy.