Serbia have impressed in World Cup qualifying and find themselves on the verge of qualifying for the tournament. Following the disappointing campaign in Euro 2016 qualifying, which came on the back of missing out on the 2014 World Cup, this represents renewed optimism in the national team and it’s players. Coach Slavoljub Muslin should take most of the credit in changing the fortunes of the national team after overseeing this change. Muslin’s influence paired with the genuine quality of some of his players and the talented generation now coming through rightly makes Serbian fans excited for the future.
In fact, Serbia won the U20 World Cup in 2015, barely a month after the poor qualifying campaign for Euro 2016 ended, and several players from that side are tipped to make the step up soon. Players like Vukasin Jovanovic, Marko Grujic, Andrija Zivkovic and the brilliant Sergej Milinkovic-Savic are yet to become regular members of the senior side.
Muslin was appointed to take charge of the squad for the current campaign and quickly analysed the players he could call up and how to best fit them in a formation and style of play. During this process, he came up with what has proved so successful – the 3-4-3.
“I identified that switching to a more familiar system to the players would enable them to express their abilities to the same level that they do with their clubs.” -Slavoljub Muslin to whoscored.com in november 2016.
Results has followed after setting the team up in a formation that suits most of the players. Players like Dusan Tadic, Filip Kostic and Aleksandar Mitrovic has thrived up front in the counter-attacking style Muslin has implemented to make Serbia devastating on the break.
If we go through the squad, Serbia have two good goalkeepers fighting it out for the number 1 spot. Veteran Vladimir Stojkovic has been trusted in most games but the 21-year-old Predrag Rajkovic was part of the U20-team and is the future between the sticks. In front of them is a really good back-three of captain Branislav Ivanovic to the right, Napoli man Nikola Maksimovic in the centre and Schalke 04 defender Matija Nastasic or Jagos Vukovic of Olympiakos to the left. Those players create as solid a back-three as you could find in most European qualifying groups as they balance each other really well. Most importantly, they know how to defend.
Behind these three are some lesser known names, but there are options outside the squad to improve the backing of the back-three. Nenad Tomovic has been a solid performer in Serie A for a number of seasons now and surely deserves a chance for the national team. He is confident in a back-three after playing in that structure for Fiorentina under Paulo Sousa and previously at Genoa. The aforementioned Vukasin Jovanovic is a young option to gradually start phasing in after an impressive start to the season with Bordeaux where he’s played 90 minutes in each of the first four Ligue 1 games. Milos Veljkovic, the former Tottenham defender now at Werder Bremen, is another young option for the future. Additionally, if Neven Subotic could stay fit and recapture just fractions of his previous form then he’s a certain member in the squad.
Muslin utilises wing-backs down both sides to provide width and wing-play in attack as well as defending as full-backs when Serbia’s shape changes to 5-4-1/5-2-2-1. Antonio Rukavina of Villarreal has been solid down the right but in the last game Muslin chose the more attacking Mijat Gacinovic who normally plays as a winger. He scored one and assisted Aleksandar Kolarov’s goal against Moldova. On the left, Kolarov is the undoubted first-choice, with his crossing a key weapon in feeding the striker Mitrovic. Kolarov is also an option in the left-sided centre-back spot and then Ivan Obradovic will come into the eleven down the wing. Lazio’s reliable Dusan Basta is surprisingly not in the squad and Genoa’s winger/wing-back Darko Lazovic has also missed out recently. The two of them would be more attacking options than Rukavina and better defensively than Gacinovic, although perhaps not as good in attack as the latter.
Central midfield is where Serbia are strongest as there is an incredible number of good midfielders. Nemanja Matic is the main man and obvious starter. Normally his partner is Crystal Palace holder Luka Milivojevic and they form a physical and solid partnership in the centre of the pitch. With Milivojevic next to him, Matic can even be more creative and enterprising in possession. When Milivojevic was missing against Moldova, Nemanja Gudelj is his stand in. Gudelj spent his career in the Netherlands for NAC Breda, AZ and Ajax and made a name for himself as a goalscoring midfielder prior to his move to China. Other options include Benfica’s Ljubomir Fejsa, Celta Vigo’s Nemanja Radoja and Valencia’s promising Nemanja Maksimovic. Even if perhaps only Matic is truly top class when compared with Europe’s finest, the rest are solid, capable players that provide balance and quality to the side both in attack and defence.
Grujic and Sasa Lukic are two highly promising younger midfielders who join Nemanja Maksimovic as the future hopefuls of the national team. Maksimovic is already in the squad and has three caps but the other two should soon join him in the squad if their development continues.
Further forward in the attacking midfield area is an abundance of talented attackers. Dusan Tadic and Filip Kostic has been the main duo behind Mitrovic throughout qualifying but there are others as well. Zoran Tosic is one option, although he’s best suited to play as a winger. Adem Ljajic is the obvious man to improve the side. The Torino attacker is comfortable both from the wing or as a number 10. He therefore fits perfectly into the fluid positioning behind the striker in Muslin’s system. Ljajic has been profiled on this site in depth before, but he’s a creative genius and one of Europe’s best attacking midfielders. His dribbling, shooting and passing is sublime and as his consistency has improved he should be starting for Serbia.
Lazio’s superb Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is incredibly not even in the squad despite impressing in Serie A for two seasons. He is best either as one of the more attacking central midfielders in a 4-3-3 or as the 10 in a 4-2-3-1 but is capable of playing in a two-man midfield. Muslin has chosen to go with two holders and two speedy attackers behind Mitrovic which explains Milinkovic-Savic’ continued absence but his quality should see him a regular member in at least the squad. Against lesser known sides he could be a creative weapon alongside Matic in midfield and he could play in Kostic’ role too for example. His time will come though.
Other options include Sampdoria creator Filip Djuricic, but his gametime is limited in Italy, and youngsters Andrija Zivkovic (in the U21’s), Lazar Markovic (could also play as a wing-back) and Nikola Ninkovic. The future looks bright in this department with lots of different types of attackers available for selection.
Aleksandar Mitrovic has been fantastic for Serbia in the current campaign and integral with his goalscoring and link-up play. Striker is the only department where Serbia are light though, with the best options behind Mitrovic being Aleksandar Pesic of Red Star Belgrade and Aleksandar Prijovic. Not exactly as impressive as in midfield or attacking midfield. Hopes are pinned on Benfica striker Luka Jovic but he needs to play regularly before being of interest for Muslin.
The win over Ireland yesterday means Serbia have a golden opportunity to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. They have a squad full of excellent footballers with some experienced, some in their prime and some talented youngsters coming through. They have a coach who’s found a system that suits his players. And they have some absolutely brilliant players who currently are not in the starting eleven. The need for three points in the last two matches to guarantee top spot and automatic qualification means Serbia have a huge chance of qualifying. They need to take it.
Below is Serbia’s best goals from qualifying. Enjoy.
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