Serbia national football team

Yugoslavia at the 1930 FIFA World Cup, featured an all Serbian team following a boycott by Croat representatives.

The Football Federation of what was then the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia) was founded in Zagreb in 1919 under the name Jugoslavenski nogometni savez (Yugoslavian Football Association). Jovan Ružić was the first Serb to represent the national team in its international debut match, a 7-0 drubbing by Czechoslovakia at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium.[23]

In 1921 the Belgrade Football Subassociation organised a friendly match between the France national football team and a Belgrade XI, dubbed the "Serbian representatives". The team featured footballers from SK Jugoslavija and BSK, the two strongest Serbian clubs of the interwar period. The French delegation were on a four-game tour of Yugoslavia with the last exhibition game being played in Belgrade's SK Jugoslavija Stadium on July 3. Prince Regent Aleksandar I and FIFA President Jules Rimet were in attendance as the visitors triumphed 3–0.[24]

In the lead-up to the 1930 FIFA World Cup a dispute regarding the relocation of the FAs headquarters from Zagreb to the capital Belgrade erupted, culminating in a boycott by the Zagreb Subassociation which disallowed its members to participate in the upcoming tournament. The de facto Serbian team led by coach Boško Simonović, composed largely of players from Belgrade's BSK, SK Jugoslavija and BASK, reached the semi-final, losing controversially to hosts and eventual winners Uruguay 6–1.[25][26][27] The royal interbellum era featured noteworthy Serbian footballers such as Blagoje Marjanović, Aleksandar Tirnanić, Milorad Arsenijević, Đorđe Vujadinović, Branislav Sekulić and Milutin Ivković. Due to the dismemberment of Yugoslavia during World War II the football federation and national team ceased activities but reformed following the end of hostilities.

In 1945 Svetislav Glišović led the first unofficial national team representing the Federal State of Serbia in a tournament held to mark the end of World War II.[28] The Serbian team encompassing the newly established Red Star squad won its first game by beating FS Montenegro 2–1, FS Croatia 3–1 in the semi-final, then proceeding to win the tournament against the Yugoslav People's Army team 1–0 in Belgrade.[29][30]

The reconstituted Yugoslavia achieved its best performance reaching the UEFA European Championship finals in 1960 and 1968, and finishing fourth place at the 1962 FIFA World Cup. During its existence Serbian footballers would continually play a pivotal role in the Yugoslav national team throughout the socialist era, with the likes of Rajko Mitić, Branko Stanković, Vladimir Beara, Vujadin Boškov, Todor Veselinović, Miloš Milutinović, Borivoje Kostić, Milan Galić, Vladimir Durković, Velibor Vasović, Dragan Džajić, Jovan Aćimović, Dušan Bajević, Vladimir Petrović and many others until the states disintegrated in the early 1990s. The national team of SFR Yugoslavia played its last game on 25 March 1992, losing 2–0 to the Netherlands.[31]

Although the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, consisting of Serbia and Montenegro, was formed on 27 April 1992,[32] its teams were banned from all international sporting events, including the national football team as a result of U.N. sanctions stemming from the conflict in Yugoslavia.[33] Consequently, the national team did not play its first game as a new country before 23 December 1994, a friendly match played in Porto Alegre and in which Brazil won 2–0.[34] This was the first ever team composed of Serbian and Montenegrin players exclusively, while Slobodan Santrač, a former Yugoslavia national team player, was named the team's first ever manager. The next game was played three days later, this time in Buenos Aires, resulting in a 1–0 loss to Argentina.[35]

Due to international sanctions, the team could not participate in 1994 World Cup qualifying nor the Euro 1996 qualifying process.[33][36]

As FR Yugoslavia joined FIFA and UEFA in late 1994, the team was available to participate in the 1998 World Cup qualifiers. Slobodan Santrač was appointed as a coach for the team.[37] In the qualifiers, Yugoslavia was drawn in Group 6 with Euro 1996 runners-up Czech Republic, Slovakia, Spain, Faroe Islands and Malta. With seven winning games (of which are both against the Czech Republic, Faroe Islands and Malta and one against Slovakia), two draw games (against Spain and Slovakia) and one lost game against Spain, Yugoslavia ended up in second place with 23 points behind Spain. Yugoslavia qualified for the play-off i n which they were drawn to play against Hungary. With the aggregate score of 12–1 against Hungary, Yugoslavia qualified for the World Cup.[38]

The 1998 World Cup seeding had Yugoslavia ranked 21st among the world's national teams, but Yugoslavia was widely recognized as one of the shadow favorites for the World Cup. The New York Times suggested that Yugoslavia could easily be a semi-finalist in that year's World Cup.[39] The draw put the team in Group F alongside Germany, the United States, and Iran. Yugoslavia won its first game 1–0 against Iran thanks to a goal from defender Siniša Mihajlović.[40] The next game was a draw for Yugoslavia; after leading Germany 2–0, a free kick from Michael Tarnat deflected off Mihajlović and into the goal, then Oliver Bierhoff equalised it at 2–2 at the 80th minute.[41] Yugoslavia responded in the next game against the United States and won 1–0 due to a goal in the fourth minute by Slobodan Komljenović.[42] Yugoslavia finished second in the group and Germany won the group with a better goal difference.

Due to their second position, Yugoslavia saw itself face the Netherlands in the Round of 16. Yugoslavia entered in the match with a sole attacker, but its defensive tactics proved unsuccessful as Dennis Bergkamp put the Netherlands in front in the 38th minute. Immediately following the start of the second half, Yugoslavia pressured the Dutch, who conceded a header from Komljenović. However, the turning point of this match was a penalty awarded to Yugoslavia after Vladimir Jugović was fouled.[43] Predrag Mijatović missed, and the scoreline remained the same at 1–1.[44] Such an event demoralized the Yugoslavs, as the Dutch took the initiative. In the late seconds of the game Edgar Davids' shot towards the Yugoslav net from a distance of 20 meters and beat goalkeeper Ivica Kralj.[43] This marked the end of Yugoslavia's run in the 1998 World Cup.

The draw for the Euro 2000 qualifiers saw first-seeded Yugoslavia drawn in a group with Croatia, thus marking the first games between the two teams after the breakup of Yugoslavia. The other teams in the group were the Republic of Ireland, Macedonia, and Malta. When the qualifiers began, the coach was Milan Živadinović, but in July 1999 he was dismissed and was replaced by Vujadin Boškov.[45][46]

The team started with a 1–0 win over Ireland in Belgrade, before beating Malta 3–0 in Ta' Qali. The home fixture against the Maltese followed, but was moved to Thessaloniki, Greece due to the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. The team nonetheless won 4–1. The first match against Croatia took place in Belgrade shortly after the bombing ended, and was interrupted due to a power outage at the beginning of the second half, resuming after 43 minutes and eventually finishing 0–0.[47] A 2–1 defeat against Ireland in Dublin was followed by victories home and away against Macedonia (3–1 and 4–2 respectively), meaning that Yugoslavia needed to win its final qualifier against Croatia in Zagreb, or to draw with Ireland failing to beat Macedonia in Skopje, in order to qualify automatically for Euro 2000. In the event, Ireland conceded an injury-time equaliser, meaning that Yugoslavia's 2–2 draw with the Croatians was good enough.

The draw for the finals placed Yugoslavia in Group C along with Spain, Norway and another former Yugoslav republic, Slovenia. The Slovenians took a 3–0 lead in the first game at the Stade du Pays de Charleroi, but three goals in six second-half minutes enabled Yugoslavia to secure a 3–3 draw. The team then beat Norway 1–0 in Liège, thanks to an early Savo Milošević backheel strike. The final group game, against Spain in Bruges, saw the Yugoslavs take the lead three times, before a Gaizka Mendieta penalty and an Alfonso strike in injury-time secured a dramatic 4–3 win for the Spaniards and top spot in the group. Yugoslavia nonetheless finished second, level on points with Norway but ranked ahead due to its victory in Liège. In each of the three games, the team had one player sent off (Siniša Mihajlović, Mateja Kežman, and Slaviša Jokanović, respectively).[48]

In the quarter-finals, Yugoslavia was once again paired with the Netherlands. Unlike the last time, the co-hosts won 6–1 in Rotterdam with Patrick Kluivert scoring a hat-trick. Despite Yugoslavia's elimination, Savo Milošević was crowned the joint top scorer of the tournament alongside Patrick Kluivert. Both players scored five goals, although Milošević played one game fewer.[49]

Ilija Petković replaced Boškov as head coach in July 2000.[50] For the 2002 World Cup qualifiers, Yugoslavia was drawn in Group 1 with Russia, Slovenia, Switzerland, the Faroe Islands and Luxembourg. Not long after winning against Luxembourg, Petković was sacked and replaced with a three-pieced team which consisted of Boškov, Dejan Savićević and Ivan Ćurković. Despite being one of the favourites from the group and winning both games against Luxembourg and Faroe Islands as well and away game against Switzerland, Yugoslavia managed to suffer a home loss and away draw against Russia, a home draw against Switzerland and both draw games against Slovenia. Yugoslavia ended the qualifying campaign in the third place of the group just one point behind second-placed Slovenia.[51]

Savićević was appointed as coach in July 2002.[52] For the Euro 2004 qualifiers Yugoslavia was drawn in Group 9 with Italy, Wales, Finland and Azerbaijan. During qualifying, the country went under a political transformation, and the newly named Serbia and Montenegro appeared for the first time in a game against Azerbaijan in February 2003.[53] In June, after a 2–1 loss to Azerbaijan, Savićević resigned and was replaced by Ilija Petković.[54] Despite drawing both games against group favourites and eventual group winners Italy and winning both games against runners-up Wales, Serbia and Montenegro failed to qualify, mostly due to a 2–2 home draw, the 2–1 loss to Azerbaijan, as well and a 3–0 away loss to Finland.

Serbia and Montenegro and Cote d'Ivoire playing in the Allianz Arena at the 2006 FIFA World Cup

Petković remained as a coach for the team, despite the failure to qualify for Euro 2004.[55] However, qualifying for 2006 World Cup was different. With six wins and four draw games, Serbia and Montenegro ended up first in the group with an undefeated record in their qualification group ahead of favourites Spain. The Serbia and Montenegro team also allowed only one goal in the ten matches, the best defensive record of all 51 teams participating in qualification.

For the 2006 qualifiers, Serbia and Montenegro was drawn in a group with Spain, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lithuania and San Marino. Led once again by Ilija Petković as the coach, Serbia and Montenegro with the "Famous Four" defence, consisting of Nemanja Vidić, Mladen Krstajić, Goran Gavrančić, and Ivica Dragutinović, with Dragoslav Jevrić as the goalkeeper, conceded only one goal in ten games, finishing first with a 6–4–0 record, ahead of Spain.

On 3 June 2006, following a referendum, Montenegro declared its independence from Serbia. As the World Cup was about to start, it was decided that the Serbia and Montenegro team that had qualified for the tournament would compete, with the split into separate teams representing the new countries of Montenegro and Serbia to take place once the team was no longer in the tournament.

In the group stage, Serbia and Montenegro lost their opening game to joint group favourite, the Netherlands. The final score was 1–0 after Arjen Robben scored the only goal of the game. They also lost their second game to Argentina 6–0, Serbia and Montenegro's worst ever international result. With the team's two losses and with Netherlands and Argentina winning both their games, Serbia and Montenegro could no longer qualify for the knockout matches and was playing for pride alone in their final group game against Ivory Coast. Despite having a 2–0 lead for much of the first half, the Elephants managed to come back and win 3–2, leaving Serbia and Montenegro with no points.[56]

Javier Clemente, Serbia's first-ever foreign coach was appointed to lead the team for the 2008 Euro campaign.[57] After Montenegro declared independence, Serbia marked their split from Montenegro with a 3–1 win over the Czech Republic. For the Euro 2008 qualifiers, Serbia was drawn in Group A along with Poland, Portugal, Belgium, Finland, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The qualification process began promising and ended in disappointment for Serbia. A strong start in qualification was overshadowed by the final hurdle of matches where inconsistency took over, the side dropping points against the likes of Finland, Belgium, Armenia and Kazakhstan. They eventually finished third, three points behind runners-up Portugal and Group A winners Poland. Clemente was sacked after the team's failure to qualify.[58]

Serbia replaced Clemente with Miroslav Đukić, who then left the position on 19 August of the following year without having played any official games, due to various disagreements with the Football Association of Serbia.

Atmosphere at the start of match vs. France, 9 September 2009

Subsequent to Ðukić's rapid departure, Radomir Antić was appointed coach and success followed. Serbia's World Cup qualification campaign began in 2008. Their qualification group featured 1998 World Cup winners and 2006 World Cup runners-up France, Romania, as well as Austria, Lithuania and the Faroe Islands. Serbia played consistently during the qualifiers and this led to the team automatically qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. They confirmed qualification with a 5–0 win at home against Romania.

Like in 2006, Serbia went into the World Cup as the dark horses of the tournament. Key points justifying their potential surprise team status included a star-studded defence that was composed by Nemanja Vidić, Neven Subotić, Aleksandar Kolarov and Branislav Ivanović. The captain of Serbia's 2010 World Cup campaign was Dejan Stanković, who became the only player to feature in a World Cup having played under three different national names (although he never changed nationality; this was a result of geopolitical events involving the identity of Yugoslavia).[60] In their first tournament as an independent nation, they were to face Ghana, Germany and Australia.

Their opening group game was against Ghana and chances came to both sides but a red card to Aleksandar Luković and a handball by substitute Zdravko Kuzmanović in the second half gave Ghana a penalty to take all three points at the death. Asamoah Gyan converted eight minutes from full-time and Serbia were defeated 1–0.

In Serbia's second group match, they defeated Germany by a score of 1–0 with a goal by Milan Jovanović late in the first half. FIFA's official YouTube channel called the win "the most famous day in Serbia's footballing history".[61]

Serbia only needed a single point to reach the knockout stages but was defeated by Australia 2–1. Australia scored two goals in the second half through Tim Cahill and Brett Holman. A late Marko Pantelić goal served only as a consolation. They finished last in the group.

Radomir Antić was sacked two games into the Euro 2012 qualification process, a 1–1 draw at home to Slovenia spelling the end to his two-year stint. The sacking meant the bringing in of Vladimir Petrović to the job.

Nemanja Vidić was named twice in the FIFA World XI.

For the Euro 2012 qualifying, Serbia was drawn in Group C featuring Italy, Slovenia, Estonia, Northern Ireland and the Faroe Islands. The qualifying stage began with Radomir Antić as coach and finished with Vladimir Petrović. Serbia and Antić started the first two games positively with a 3–0 win away to Faroe Islands and a 1–1 draw at home to Slovenia but this result brought the end of Antić's reign as the country's coach.[62] New coach Petrović faced setbacks immediately with a 3–1 loss at home to Estonia[63] and an abandoned match resulting in a 3–0 loss to Italy due to crowd trouble from the Serbian away supporters in Genoa.[64]

Serbia returned to form with a 2–1 win at home over Northern Ireland but could only manage a 1–1 draw away to Estonia. Afterwards, Serbia won back to back games with a 1–0 win away to Northern Ireland and a crucial 3–1 win at home against Faroe Islands. These results put Serbia in pole position to confirm a play-off spot behind Italy.

Serbia needed a win at home against Italy to confirm a play-off spot but their efforts only resulted in a 1–1 draw. The team, however, still had one more chance to confirm a play-off place when they faced Slovenia away. This game was a must-win even though Serbia had a superior goal difference over Estonia, a draw was not good enough for progression. Neither side played decisively better in the first half, but a long-range goal put Slovenia up 1–0 at half time.[65] The Serbians improved their play in the second half, though they missed opportunities; notably Nemanja Vidić's penalty miss midway through the second half.[65] Serbia left empty-handed after a 1–0 loss and exited the tournament for the third time in a row during the qualifying group stages, missing out by one point behind Estonia. Serbia once again failed to qualify for the European Championships.[65] Vladimir Petrović was sacked after the team's failure to qualify.

Ahead of the qualifying campaign for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Dejan Stanković and Nemanja Vidić announced that they were retiring from international football.[66][67] This meant that Serbia had lost two key players and that a new era had started. Branislav Ivanović became the new captain. Siniša Mihajlović, a former member of the national team, was appointed as the coach on 24 April 2012. Serbia was drawn in Group A in qualification for 2014 FIFA World Cup, together with Croatia, Belgium, Scotland, Macedonia, and Wales. The team began the qualification campaign with a goalless draw with Scotland and a 6–1 win over Wales. In the next two games, Serbia suffered two defeats, from Macedonia and Belgium.

On 22 March 2013, Serbia played in Zagreb against Croatia. The game was highly anticipated in both countries due to their rivalry both on and off the pitch. Croatia won 2–0.[68] Serbia then defeated Scotland 2–0 at home in a crucial qualifier, though their World Cup hopes were taken away after a 2–1 defeat to Belgium. Serbia drew with Croatia 1–1 in the corresponding fixture at home, where 18-year-old Aleksandar Mitrović scored an equalizer in the second-half after Mario Mandžukić opened the scoring.[69] They then defeated Wales 0–3 in Cardiff. Dejan Stanković's farewell game was completed in a friendly against Japan, which Serbia won 2–0. He finished his career with 103 appearances for the national team, a record previously held by Savo Milošević, with 102 appearances. Serbia finished qualifying with a 5–1 home win against Macedonia,[70] putting them in third in the group, three points from a playoff spot behind Croatia and group winners Belgium.

After failing to qualify for the 2014 World Cup, Dick Advocaat was appointed as the coach in 2014.[71] Serbia was drawn in Group I in qualification for UEFA Euro 2016, together with Portugal, Denmark, Albania and Armenia. Advocaat started with a draw in a friendly 1–1 game against France. The team began qualification with a 1–1 draw against Armenia. The following game was an abandoned game against Albania in Belgrade. The match had to be abandoned as a result of crowd trouble after a drone carrying an Albanian flag and a map of Greater Albania was flown over the pitch.[72] Serbia was originally awarded with a 3–0 victory by the UEFA, and deducted three points, but on 10 July 2015, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reversed the earlier decision and awarded Albania a 3–0 win.[72] On 14 November 2014, Serbia played against Denmark in Belgrade and lost, 1–3. After this game, Advocaat left,[73] whereupon Radovan Ćurčić was announced as a new coach on 25 November.[74]

In 2015, Serbia's first match was a qualifying match against Portugal in Lisbon, during which Serbia lost 2–1, cutting their chances for qualification to Euro 2016. On 13 June 2015, Serbia played a qualifying match against Denmark in Copenhagen, losing 2–0. With the 10 July ruling by the CAS on the abandoned game against Albania, Serbia would become mathematically eliminated from Euro 2016 qualification. On 4 September 2015, Serbia had their first victory, winning 2–0, against Armenia. On 8 October 2015, Serbia defeated Albania with a goal each from Aleksandar Kolarov and Adem Ljajić. In the table of Group I, Serbia finished second to last place with four points in a five team group.

Serbia national team at the 2018 World Cup in Russia

After failing to qualify for Euro 2016, Slavoljub Muslin was appointed as a coach. Serbia was drawn in Group D in qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup with Euro 2016 semi-finalists Wales, Austria, Ireland, Georgia and Moldova. They started off their campaign with a 2–2 draw against Ireland at the Red Star Stadium and continued this good form with wins over Austria, Georgia and Moldova.

Serbia beat Moldova in Belgrade with goals from Aleksandar Kolarov, Aleksandar Mitrović and Mijat Gaćinović. This consolidated their first position going into their top-of-the group clash with Ireland. They won this match with a 55th-minute goal from Kolarov. Serbia finished the qualifying campaign with a 1–0 home win against Georgia, and ended at the top of Group D and therefore qualified for the 2018 tournament, its first major tournament after an eight-year absence. Despite Serbia's qualification, Muslin was sacked by the Football Association of Serbia as a result on differences regarding team selection.[75] Muslin was criticized for not inviting Sergej Milinković-Savić to play in the campaign which sparked controversy in Serbia. Mladen Krstajić took the place as a temporary coach after Muslin's dismissal and led the team in the World Cup.[76]

In the World Cup, Serbia opened their match against Costa Rica. Kolarov's free kick at the second half meant Serbia won their first World Cup game after eight years. Serbia lost their later encounters, losing 1–2 to Switzerland with a 90-minute goal scored by Xherdan Shaqiri[77] and 0–2 to Brazil, thus being eliminated from the group stage.[78]

Due to poor performance of Serbia in previous years, the country found itself started the campaign of the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League C, where they were drawn into Group 4 with Montenegro, Lithuania and Romania. With both wins against Lithuania and Montenegro and both draw games against Romania, Serbia finished on top of the group, securing the Euro 2020 play-off spot and being promoted into League B for 2020–21 season. With six goals, Aleksandar Mitrović finished the tournament as the top scorer.

In December 2017, Mladen Krstajić became a permanent coach for Serbia.[79] Serbia started the campaign of 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, which served as a part of UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying campaign.

For Euro 2020 qualifiers, Serbia was drawn into Group B with Euro 2016 champions Portugal, Ukraine, Lithuania and Luxembourg. Serbia kicked off the qualifiers with 1–1 away draw game against Portugal. But in the next away game against Ukraine, Serbia lost the game 0–5. This game also spawned a lot of controversy due to Krstajić's coaching style. After the 4–1 home win against Lithuania, Krstajić was sacked mainly because of the loss against Ukraine and replaced with Ljubiša Tumbaković. Tumbaković started with a 2–4 home loss against Portugal. The next two games were away wins against Luxembourg and Lithuania, before beating Luxembourg at home to keep its slim hope alive. However, Serbia could not take one of the top two places after the team managed a 2–2 draw to Ukraine at home.

After the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying play-offs were resumed, Serbia placed itself against Norway in Oslo. The game happened to be difficult for the Serbs, but two goals, one in the extra times and scored both by Sergej Milinković-Savić finally helped Serbia to overcome Norway 2–1, thus marching to the final playoff game against Scotland at home.[80] The game was won by Scotland in a penalty shootout (5–4) after the game was tied 1–1 after full time.[81] Serbia once again failed to qualify for the Euros, making 20 years since the country last took part in the tournament. Tumbaković was sacked after the team's failure to qualify for the tournament.[82]

On 3 March 2020, Serbia was drawn in 2020–21 UEFA Nations League B Group 3 alongside Russia, Turkey and Hungary. Serbia had a difficult beginning in their first two games. Their first match against Russia away, Serbia was defeated 1–3 as expected. In the second game, Serbia however only gained a goalless draw to Turkey, though it was notable that Serbia played with only 10 men in the second half. In the next four games, Serbia played another draw game against Turkey, suffered a draw and a lost game against Hungary, and in the final game Serbia unexpectedly won against Russia with 5–0. Serbia ended the campaign at the third place on group 3, securing the place of League B for 2022–23 season.

Serbia was drawn in Group A in qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup with Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Luxembourg and Azerbaijan.[83]

After penalty shootout loss against Scotland in the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying play offs, Ljubiša Tumbaković was sacked and replaced with national team hero Dragan Stojković.

Serbia started its qualification journey with a 3–2 win against the Republic of Ireland in Belgrade in March 2021. It was followed by a 2–2 draw against Portugal. In that game, Serbia was losing 2–0 at the half time, but managed to get back into the match with goals from Filip Kostić and Aleksandar Mitrović. It ended in a draw after Cristiano Ronaldo's goal was controversially disallowed. After this game, Serbia won against Azerbaijan in Baku 2–1. This was followed by a 4–1 victory against Luxembourg in Belgrade and a 1–1 draw against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin, where Serbia was leading until the 87th minute when Milenković scored an own goal. The remaining fixtures were a 1–0 win against Luxembourg and a 3–1 victory against Azerbaijan. After those games, it was clear that Serbia needed a victory against Portugal to qualify directly from the group. On 14 November 2021, Serbia faced Portugal at the Estádio da Luz, and suffered a goal lead from Renato Sanches. However, an equaliser by Dušan Tadić was later followed with an emotional decisive goal from Aleksandar Mitrović in the final minutes of the second half sealed a shock 2–1 away win for the Serbs, therefore confirmed Serbia an automatic spot in Qatar.[84]

On 16 December 2021, Serbia was drawn in 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B Group 4 alongside Norway, Sweden and Slovenia. Serbia had a difficult beginning in the first of the four June 2022 games against Norway which ended in a 0–1 home loss. After this game, Serbia continued the June campaign in a good form beating Slovenia 4–1 at home and Sweden 1–0 away. Serbia ended the June campaign with 2–2 draw away against Slovenia. Serbia needed both wins in order to get promoted to the League A for 2024-25 season. In September 2022, Serbia did an enormous win against Sweden at home, beating them 4–1, with Aleksandar Mitrović scoring a hat-trick. In the last match against Norway in Oslo, Serbia won 2–0 with goals from Dušan Vlahović and Aleksandar Mitrović. Mitrović is currently tied as the top scorer with Erling Haaland, scoring 6 goals. Serbia ended the campaign at the first place on group 4, eventually getting promoted to the League A for 2024-25 season and securing the place in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs Path B.

2006–2008

2008–2010

2010–2012

2012–2014

2014–2016

2016–2018

2018–2020

2020–2022

2022–

The 53,000 capacity Rajko Mitić Stadium is the largest in Serbia, and is often utilised for international fixtures.

Serbia does not have an official national stadium and the team has played at various grounds throughout the country. The Rajko Mitić Stadium is the most popular venue following by Partizan Stadium, both ground are located in the capital city Belgrade.[98][99][100]

In July 2014, a partnership was announced between the Football Association of Serbia and English manufacturer Umbro which is Serbia's official supplier before Puma took over with their home and away kits, debuting 7 September 2014 in the friendly match against France. On 7 September 2014, Serbia unveiled their latest kits also worn at the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers campaign.[101]

Kit Supplier	Period
Adidas	1974–2002
Lotto	2002–2006
Nike	2006–2014
Umbro	2014–2018
Puma	2018–present

As of 3 March 2021

As of 27 September 2022

Manager	Period	Record							Major competitions
		Matches	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %	Draw %	Loss %
Dragan Stojković	2021–	20	13	4	3	65.00	20.00	15.00	2022 World Cup
Ilija Stolica (caretaker)	2021	2	0	2	0	0.00	100.00	0.00	—
Ljubiša Tumbaković	2019–2020	14	6	5	3	42.86	35.71	21.43	Euro 2020 – Failed to qualify
Mladen Krstajić	2017–2019	19	9	5	5	47.36	26.32	26.32	2018 World Cup – Group stage
Slavoljub Muslin	2016–2017	15	8	5	2	53.33	33.33	13.33
Radovan Ćurčić	2014–2016	11	5	0	6	45.45	0.00	55.55	Euro 2016 – Failed to qualify
Dick Advocaat	2014	4	0	2	2	0.00	50.00	50.00
Ljubinko Drulović (caretaker)	2014	4	2	1	1	50.00	25.00	25.00	—
Siniša Mihajlović	2012–2013	19	7	4	8	36.84	21.05	42.10	2014 World Cup – Failed to qualify
Radovan Ćurčić (caretaker)	2011–2012	5	2	1	2	40.00	20.00	40.00	—
Vladimir Petrović	2010–2011	13	5	3	5	38.46	23.08	38.46	Euro 2012 – Failed to qualify
Radomir Antić	2008–2010	28	17	3	8	60.71	10.71	28.57	2010 World Cup – Group stage
Miroslav Đukić	2007–2008	5	0	2	3	0.00	40.00	60.00	—
Javier Clemente	2006–2007	16	7	7	2	43.75	43.75	12.50	Euro 2008 – Failed to qualify
Ilija Petković	2003–2006	30	11	10	9	36.66	33.33	30.00	2006 World Cup – Group stage
Dejan Savićević	2001–2003	17	4	3	10	23.53	17.65	58.82	Euro 2004 – Failed to qualify
Boškov-Ćurković-Savićević	2001	8	4	2	2	50.00	25.00	25.00	2002 World Cup – Failed to qualify
Milovan Đorić	2001	3	0	2	1	0.00	66.66	33.33
Ilija Petković	2000–2001	4	2	1	1	50.00	25.00	25.00	—
Vujadin Boškov	1999–2000	15	6	5	4	40.00	33.33	26.66	Euro 2000 – Quarter final
Milan Živadinović	1998–1999	6	3	2	1	50.00	33.33	16.66	—
Slobodan Santrač	1994–1998	43	26	10	7	60.46	23.25	16.28	1998 World Cup – Round of 16
	TOTAL	301	137	79	85	45.51	26.25	28.24	6 out of 13

For the period before 1992 see: Yugoslavia national football team#Head coaches

The following players were called up for the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League matches against Sweden and Norway in September 2022.[104]

Caps and goals as of 27 September 2022, after the match against Norway.[105][106]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Marko Dmitrović	(1992-01-24) 24 January 1992	19	0	Sevilla
23	1GK	Vanja Milinković-Savić	(1997-02-20) 20 February 1997	6	0	Torino
12	1GK	Marko Ilić	(1998-02-03) 3 February 1998	1	0	Kortrijk
13	2DF	Stefan Mitrović	(1990-05-22) 22 May 1990	34	0	Getafe
2	2DF	Strahinja Pavlović	(2001-05-24) 24 May 2001	21	1	Red Bull Salzburg
5	2DF	Miloš Veljković	(1995-09-26) 26 September 1995	21	0	Werder Bremen
3	2DF	Filip Mladenović	(1991-08-15) 15 August 1991	19	1	Legia Warsaw
20	2DF	Aleksa Terzić	(1999-08-17) 17 August 1999	5	0	Fiorentina
4	2DF	Srđan Babić	(1996-04-22) 22 April 1996	2	0	Almería
19	2DF	Erhan Mašović	(1998-11-22) 22 November 1998	2	0	VfL Bochum
15	2DF	Strahinja Eraković	(2001-01-22) 22 January 2001	1	0	Red Star Belgrade
10	3MF	Dušan Tadić (captain)	(1988-11-20) 20 November 1988	90	18	Ajax
17	3MF	Filip Kostić	(1992-11-01) 1 November 1992	50	3	Juventus
6	3MF	Nemanja Maksimović	(1995-01-26) 26 January 1995	39	0	Getafe
7	3MF	Nemanja Radonjić	(1996-02-15) 15 February 1996	36	5	Torino
21	3MF	Filip Đuričić	(1992-01-30) 30 January 1992	36	4	Sampdoria
16	3MF	Saša Lukić	(1996-08-13) 13 August 1996	32	2	Torino
14	3MF	Andrija Živković	(1996-07-11) 11 July 1996	28	1	PAOK
22	3MF	Darko Lazović	(1990-09-15) 15 September 1990	25	0	Hellas Verona
8	3MF	Ivan Ilić	(2001-03-17) 17 March 2001	5	0	Hellas Verona
	3MF	Stefan Mitrović	(2002-08-15) 15 August 2002	1	0	Red Star Belgrade
9	4FW	Aleksandar Mitrović (vice-captain)	(1994-09-16) 16 September 1994	76	50	Fulham
11	4FW	Luka Jović	(1997-12-23) 23 December 1997	28	9	Fiorentina
18	4FW	Dušan Vlahović	(2000-01-28) 28 January 2000	16	8	Juventus

The following players have been called up for the team in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Predrag Rajković	(1995-10-31) 31 October 1995	28	0	Mallorca	v.  Slovenia, 12 June 2022
GK	Mile Svilar	(1999-08-27) 27 August 1999	1	0	Roma	v.  Norway, 2 June 2022PRE
DF	Nikola Milenković	(1997-10-12) 12 October 1997	37	3	Fiorentina	v.  Slovenia, 12 June 2022
DF	Mihailo Ristić	(1995-10-31) 31 October 1995	9	0	Benfica	v.  Slovenia, 12 June 2022
DF	Matija Nastasić	(1993-03-28) 28 March 1993	34	0	Mallorca	v.  Sweden, 9 June 2022WD
DF	Marko Petković	(1992-09-03) 3 September 1992	4	0	Honvéd	v.  Norway, 2 June 2022PRE
DF	Uroš Spajić	(1993-02-13) 13 February 1993	20	0	Free agent	v.  Hungary, 24 March 2022INJ
MF	Sergej Milinković-Savić	(1995-02-27) 27 February 1995	35	6	Lazio	v.  Norway, 27 September 2022SUS
MF	Uroš Račić	(1998-03-17) 17 March 1998	9	0	Braga	v.  Norway, 27 September 2022SUS
MF	Nemanja Gudelj	(1991-11-16) 16 November 1991	48	1	Sevilla	v.  Sweden, 24 September 2022WD
MF	Marko Grujić	(1996-04-13) 13 April 1996	17	0	Porto	v.  Slovenia, 12 June 2022
FW	Đorđe Jovanović	(1999-02-11) 11 February 1999	1	0	Maccabi Tel Aviv	v.  Slovenia, 12 June 2022
FW	Dejan Joveljić	(1999-08-07) 7 August 1999	2	0	LA Galaxy	v.  Norway, 2 June 2022PRE

Notes:

• ^PRE Preliminary squad
• ^SUS Player suspended
• ^INJ Player withdrew from the roster due to an injury
• ^COV Player withdrew from the roster due to COVID-19
• ^RET Retired from the national team
• ^WD Player withdrew from the roster for non-injury related reasons

Goalkeepers

• 
  Ivica Kralj played for the team from 1996 to 2001
• 
  Vladimir Stojković is the most capped goalkeeper in the team's history with 84 caps

Defenders

• 
  Miroslav Đukić played for the team from 1991 to 2001
• 
  Siniša Mihajlović played 63 matches for the team from 1993 to 2003 and managed team in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
• 
  Zoran Mirković played for the team from 1995 to 2003
• 
  Mladen Krstajić played 59 matches for the team from 1999 to 2008 and managed team at the 2018 World Cup
• 
  Nemanja Vidić played 56 matches, and was participant in two World Cups
• 
  Branislav Ivanović is the most capped player in the team's history with 105 caps
• 
  Aleksandar Kolarov played 94 matches and captained the team at the 2018 World Cup

Midfielders

• 
  Dragan Stojković played from 1983 to 2001 for the team, and is the current head coach
• 
  Dejan Savićević played for the team from 1986 to 1999 and managed the team from 2001 to 2003
• 
  Slaviša Jokanović played for the team from 1991 to 2002
• 
  Vladimir Jugović played for the team from 1991 to 2002
• 
  Dejan Stanković is the Serbian player who won the most trophies; he played in three World Cups and one European Championship
• 
  Miloš Krasić played for the team from 2006 to 2011
• 
  Milan Jovanović played for the team from 2007 to 2012
• 
  Nemanja Matić played for the team from 2008 to 2019
• 
  Dušan Tadić is the current captain of the team

Forwards

• 
  Predrag Mijatović was a top goalscorer in 1998 World Cup qualifiers with 14 goals
• 
  Savo Milošević played 102 matches, scored 37 goals and was UEFA Euro 2000 Golden Boot
• 
  Darko Kovačević played 59 matches and scored 10 goals between 1994 and 2004
• 
  Mateja Kežman was top goal scorer for the team in 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
• 
  Nikola Žigić played 57 matches and scored 20 goals between 2004 and 2011
• 
  Aleksandar Mitrović is top goal scorer in the history of national team, and was 2018–19 UEFA Nations League top goal scorer

FIFA World Cup record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
as  Kingdom of Yugoslavia
1930	Semi-finals	4th	3	2	0	1	7	7		Invited
1934	Did not qualify									2	0	1	1	3	4
1938										2	1	0	1	1	4
as  SFR Yugoslavia (until 1962 as FPR Yugoslavia)
1950	Group stage	5th	3	2	0	1	7	3		5	3	2	0	16	6
1954	Quarter-finals	7th	3	1	1	1	2	3		4	4	0	0	4	0
1958	Quarter-finals	5th	4	1	2	1	7	7		4	2	2	0	7	2
1962	Fourth place	4th	6	3	0	3	10	7		4	3	1	0	11	4
1966	Did not qualify									6	3	1	2	10	8
1970										6	3	1	2	19	7
1974	Second group stage	7th	6	1	2	3	12	7		5	3	2	0	8	4
1978	Did not qualify									4	1	0	3	6	8
1982	Group stage	16th	3	1	1	1	2	2		8	6	1	1	22	7
1986	Did not qualify									8	3	2	3	7	8
1990	Quarter-finals	5th	5	3	1	1	8	6		8	6	2	0	16	6
as  FR Yugoslavia
1994	Suspended									Suspended
1998	Round of 16	10th	4	2	1	1	5	4		12	9	2	1	41	8
2002	Did not qualify									10	5	4	1	22	8
as  Serbia and Montenegro
2006	Group stage	32nd	3	0	0	3	2	10		10	6	4	0	16	1
as  Serbia
2010	Group stage	23rd	3	1	0	2	2	3		10	7	1	2	22	8
2014	Did not qualify									10	4	2	4	18	11
2018	Group stage	23rd	3	1	0	2	2	4		10	6	3	1	20	10
2022	Qualified									8	6	2	0	18	9
2026	To be determined									Future events
Total	Fourth place	13/22	46	18	8	20	66	63		136	81	33	22	287	123

* Draw for 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifiers was made on 8 December 1991, however due to break-up of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and consequent military conflict, which broke in early 1991, FSJ ceased to exist as football organization of the SFR Yugoslavia. Organization that remained based in Belgrade, Serbia, was excluded from taking part as FSJ or its successor due to UN sanctions.[108]

Serbia's World Cup record
First match	Yugoslavia 2–1 Brazil  (Montevideo, Uruguay; 14 July 1930)
Biggest win	Yugoslavia 9–0 Zaire  (Gelsenkirchen, West Germany; 18 June 1974)
Biggest defeat	Argentina 6–0 Serbia and Montenegro  (Gelsenkirchen, Germany; 16 June 2006)
Best result	Fourth place in 1930 and 1962
Worst result	Group stage in 1950, 1982, 2006, 2010, and 2018

Last update : 27 September 2022

UEFA Nations League record
Season	Division	Group	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	P/R	RK
2018–19	C	4	6	4	2	0	11	4		27th
2020–21	B	3	6	1	3	2	9	7		27th
2022–23	B	4	6	4	1	1	13	5		19th
2024–25	A	Future event								1st–16th
Total			18	9	6	3	33	16	1st–16th

Serbia's Nations League record
First Match	Lithuania 0–1 Serbia  (Vilnius, Lithuania; 7 September 2018)
Biggest Win	Serbia 5–0 Russia  (Belgrade, Serbia; 18 November 2020)
Biggest Defeat	Russia 3–1 Serbia  (Moscow, Russia; 3 September 2020)
Best Result	1st–16th place in 2024–25
Worst Result	27th place in 2018–19 and 2020–21