In this article…
Introduction
This is a tournament debut of sorts for Serbia. The split with Montenegro occurred in 2006 and this is the first European Championship finals that Serbia have qualified for since then.
There are a number of household names in the Serbian squad and, as such, they will be fancied by many to qualify from Group C.
However, there is something of a lack of evidence that supports that theory. It will be interesting to see how star men Aleksander Mitrovic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic get on at the finals having spent a season bullying the Saudi Pro League with Al Hilal.
There are some form concerns about Serbia, though. Qualification for a major tournament should never be taken lightly, but there is a general acceptance that it was a fairly weak qualification group, and recent friendly defeats to Belgium and Russia have only served to give the impression that Serbia might be too short of quality at the top of the international game to pose a serious threat at Euro 2024.
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🔮 Euro 2024 predictions
Tournament Prediction: Group Stage exit
There is little in the Serbian form, squad, or head-to-head record to support a prediction of qualification from Group C. It is a tough group, with favourites England, a promising-looking Denmark, and a tricky fourth seed in Slovenia, who will obviously be well up for a match against their neighbours, especially with potential qualification on the line.
The Serbian first XI does look comparable to the Danish one, but the facts are that the Euro 2000 qualification was also the last time that Serbia made it beyond a group stage. They have failed to progress in three World Cups since, earning just two wins in nine finals matches.
They could qualify in third place with a single win over Slovenia, but they would need favourable results in other groups for that, and even then they would face a tough group winner, likely to be either France or Portugal.
Serbia are odds-on to qualify, mainly due to third-place being likely to be enough, however, the better value is backing them not to qualify at 2.10 on Paddy Power. Aleksander Mitrovic looks like a lock to play the full number of minutes and could be a good selection for a top nation scorer.
Serbia Euro 2024 Qualifying Data
📖 How they qualified
Serbia finished 2nd in their qualification group and, as mentioned above, this is the first time that Serbia have successfully qualified for the finals. As part of Serbia & Montenegro they qualified in Euro 2000, but interestingly they have qualified for three World Cups since the split with Montenegro.
In this campaign they faced a lot of tricky away trips to Eastern European neighbours. Wins in Montenegro and Lithuania were key in qualification, but home and away defeats to Hungary meant that Serbia had to settle for second place in the group.
Aleksander Mitrovic moved from the Premier League to the Saudi Pro League during the qualification campaign, but still finished the group as top scorer with five goals.
Vanja Milinkovis-Savic established himself as the #1 goalkeeper, playing every minute in qualification, and Nemanja Gudelj was the outfield player with the most minutes.
👕 Players to watch
New Serbian talent is generally always coming through, but there doesn’t really look to be many new names on the scene that are ready to make an impact at these finals. Jan-Carlo Simic, Milan’s young centre-back, looks to be almost ready, but, at 18, these finals may have come too soon for him. Salzburg’s Petar Ratkov also looks to be a ready-made long-term successor to Mitrovic, but he is unlikely to force his way in at this tournament.
Outside of youngsters, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic will be a key player for Serbia. He has made a mockery of the Saudi Pro League this season, registering 11 goals and 10 assists as Al Hilal have stormed to the title. He is still in his twenties, so in the prime of his career, and, at his best, the schemer is a powerful but graceful player who can affect things in the final third.
* All odds displayed correctly at the time of publishing *
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