Serbia national football team

 Serbia

Nickname(s)	Beli Orlovi (White Eagles)
Association	Football Association of Serbia
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Radovan Ćurčić (caretaker)
Captain	Nikola Žigić
Most caps	Savo Milošević, Dejan Stanković (102)
Top scorer	Savo Milošević (37)
Home stadium	Stadion Crvena Zvezda
FIFA code	SRB
FIFA ranking	27
Highest FIFA ranking	13 (September 2009, March 2010, July 2010)
Lowest FIFA ranking	47 (Jun 2006)
Elo ranking	30
Highest Elo ranking	8 (June 2009)
Lowest Elo ranking	41 (September 2008)
Home colours Away colours
First international
Czech Republic 1–3 Serbia (Uherské Hradiště, Czech Rep.; 16 August 2006)
Biggest win
Azerbaijan 1–6 Serbia (Baku, Azerbaijan; 17 October 2007) Serbia 6–1 Bulgaria  (Belgrade, Serbia; 19 November 2008) Serbia 5–0 Romania  (Belgrade, Serbia; 10 October 2009)
Biggest defeat
Ukraine 2–0 Serbia (Odessa, Ukraine; 26 March 2008) Serbia 1–3 Estonia  (Belgrade, Serbia; 8 October 2010)  Mexico 2–0 Serbia (Querétaro, Mexico; 11 November 2011)  Honduras 2-0 Serbia (San Pedro Sula, Honduras; 14 November 2011)
World Cup
Appearances	11[1] (First in 1930)
Best result	4th 1930, 1962
European Championship
Appearances	5[1] (First in 1960)
Best result	2nd 1960, 1968
Honours Medal record Men’s Football Olympic Games Silver 1948 London Team Silver 1952 Helsinki Team Silver 1956 Melbourne Team Gold 1960 Rome Team Bronze 1984 Los Angeles Team Mediterranean Games Gold 1971 İzmir Team Gold 1979 Split Team

The Serbia national football team (Serbian: Фудбалска репрезентација Србије, Fudbalska reprezentacija Srbije) represents Serbia in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia, the governing body for football in Serbia. Serbia's home ground is Stadion Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade and their last head coach was Vladimir Petrović. Both FIFA and UEFA consider the Serbia national team the direct successor of the Yugoslavia national football team. In 2010, for the first time in history, Serbia was represented as an independent nation in the FIFA World Cup.

Contents 1 History 1.1 1920–1992 Heritage from Yugoslavia 1.2 1992–2000 1.3 2000–2006 1.4 2006-2010 1.5 Euro 2012 2 Competitive record 2.1 FIFA World Cup record 2.2 European Championship record 3 Euro 2012 3.1 Qualification 3.1.1 Top Goalscorers during Qualification 4 2014 FIFA World Cup 4.1 Qualification 5 Recent results and forthcoming fixtures 6 Head coaches 7 Squad 7.1 Current squad 7.2 Recent call-ups 8 Player Statistics 8.1 Captains (after 1994) 9 Team image 9.1 Nickname 9.1.1 Former 9.1.2 Current 9.2 Jerseys and Colour 9.3 Recognized players 10 See also 11 References 12 External links

History

1920–1992 Heritage from Yugoslavia

The Serbian national team was previously known as the Yugoslav national football team from 15 January 1991 until 4 February 2003, and then as the Serbia and Montenegro national football team until 3 June 2006 when Serbia declared independence as the successor state to the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. It was officially renamed the Serbia national football team on 28 June 2006, while the Montenegro national football team was created to represent the new state of Montenegro.

Between 1921 and 1992, the team did not exist as we know it today, since Serbia was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918–1943) and later on, of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1945–1991). The Serbia national team existed from 1919 to 1921, but ceased to exist following the creation of the first Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

However, the Football Association of Serbia is a FIFA member since 1921 and a UEFA member since its creation in 1954. The Serbia national team is recognized, thanks to a mutual consent between both FIFA and UEFA, as the direct descendant of the Yugoslavia national team. Hence, the new national team formed in 1992 inherited of the full status, results, and achievements from Yugoslavia, which was not the case for any other country resulting from the breakup of Yugoslavia. Consequently, it did not have to apply to obtain a FIFA and UEFA status.

A similar situation happened following Montenegro's decision to secede following a referendum held on 21 May 2006. Once more, Serbia inherited of the Serbia and Montenegro full status, and did not have to apply for a FIFA and UEFA status, while Montenegro was obligated to do so.

1992–2000

Although the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was formed on 28 April 1992, its teams were banned from all international sporting events, including the national football team. 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 by the mark of 2–0. 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 only three days later, this time in Buenos Aires, resulting in 1–0 loss to Argentina. Despite two losses in two games, the team was honoured to play its first two games ever against such football powerhouses.

Also due to the United Nations international sanctions, the team could not take part in the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification, nor the UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying process.

On 31 March 1997, the team recorded its first official win in history, a 1–0 friendly against Uruguay, simultaneously marking the team's first ever home game, played at Stadion Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade, and the first ever goal scored, courtesy of Savo Milošević. Slightly more than one year later, the team recorded its first ever win in a FIFA World Cup qualifying tournament in its first game in such a tournament, a 3–1 win over the Faroe Islands. Shortly after, the team also recorded its biggest win in history, once again against the Faroe Islands, 8–1. Yugoslavia finished second in Group 6, just behind Spain, meaning it had to go through the play-off system in order to qualify. Yugoslavia was paired up with Hungary, and what was believed would be a tough matchup turned out to be an easy win for Yugoslavia, 7–1 in Budapest and 5–0 in Belgrade, for an aggregate score of 12–1. This was enough to secure Yugoslavia its first ever FIFA World Cup appearance as a new country.

The 1998 FIFA World Cup seeding had Yugoslavia ranked in 21st position, but the Yugoslav national football team went to France as one of the shadow favorites for the World Cup. The New York Times stated that Yugoslavia could easily be a semi-finalist in that year's World Cup.^[2] The justification for such an estimation was partially found in the names of the Yugoslav players, members of great European teams and proven footballers. 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. The next game was a heartbreaker for Yugoslavia. After leading Germany 2–0, last game's hero, Mihajlović, scored an unlucky own goal following a German freekick, and Oliver Bierhoff equalised at 2–2 with only about ten minutes to the match. Nonetheless, Yugoslavia responded in the next game against the United States and won 1–0 due to an early goal in Nantes. Yugoslavia made easy work of Group 6, but despite an excellent record, the game against Germany would prove costly as Germany won the group thanks to 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 inevitably conceded a header from Slobodan Komljenović. However, the turning point of this match was be a penalty awarded to Yugoslavia after Vladimir Jugović was fouled in the penalty area. Predrag Mijatović's shot dazzled Edwin van der Sar, but not the crossbar, and the scoreline remained the same at 1–1. Such an event demoralized the Yugoslavs, as the Dutch took the initiative. In the late seconds of the game, as everybody was preparing for extra time, Edgar Davids shot towards the Yugoslav net from a distance of 20 meters and beat goalkeeper Ivica Kralj, to the pure disbelief of the Yugoslav players and fans. This marked the end of Yugoslavia's run in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, since there was not much time left to do anything.

Unlucky events forced Yugoslavia out of the tournament, but the team definitely demonstrated its great ability and proved it had a spot among the world's best teams. This was also reflected in the FIFA World Rankings following the 1998 FIFA World Cup, in which Yugoslavia was constantly ranked in the Top 10 for a long period of time.

2000–2006

The draw for Euro 2000 qualifiers saw many eyebrows raised as first-seeded Yugoslavia was drawn in a group with Croatia, thus marking the first games between the two teams after the breakup of Yugoslavia. Other teams in the group were Republic of Ireland, Macedonia, and Malta. The coach of the national team first was Milan Živadinović, while Vujadin Boskov took over after his resignation.

Due to the NATO bombing of the country that started on 24 March 1999, Yugoslavia played its home fixture against Malta in Thessaloniki, Greece, winning 4–1.

The two highly anticipated games versus Croatia both ended in draws. First game in Belgrade ended with a scoreline 0–0 (the game was interrupted due to power outage at the beginning of the second half and resumed after 43 minutes^[3]), while the other (which was the last fixture of the qualifying stage) ended 2–2 in Zagreb. The latter result however amounted to victory as was enough for Yugoslavia to secure a direct qualifying berth and knock Croatia out of European championship.

The draw for the Finals placed Yugoslavia in group C along with Spain, Norway, and Slovenia. The first game against Slovenia saw yet another former Yugoslav republic take a surprising 3–0 lead at Stade du Pays de Charleroi, but Yugoslavia managed to equalise by scoring three goals in only six minutes in mid-second half. The team's only victory in the tournament came in the second game versus Norway in Liège, thanks to an early Savo Milošević backheel strike. Final group game in Bruges was another high-scoring, but ultimately heartbreaking for Yugoslavia, as Spain won 4–3 with two late goals, despite the Yugoslavs taking the lead three times,the game has received 15min extension and immediately finished after Spain get the 4th goal thus, received many plaudits and critics. Yugoslavia ended the group in second place, as Norway failed to defeat Slovenia in Arnhem. In each of the three games, Yugoslavia had one player sent off (Siniša Mihajlović, Mateja Kežman, and Slaviša Jokanović, respectively).

In the quarter-finals, Yugoslavia was once again paired with the Netherlands. Unlike the last time, the co-hosts made easy work of Yugoslavia, winning 6–1 in Rotterdam with Patrick Kluivert scoring a hat trick.

One of the few bright spots of Yugoslav team in the whole tournament was Savo Milošević, who was crowned the joint top scorer of the tournament, alongside Patrick Kluivert. Both players scored five goals, although Milošević played one game fewer.

The 2002 qualifiers marked the first time that Yugoslavia failed to reach a major tournament ever since its return to the big stage after the UN sanctions. The problems started with the major political turmoil in the country as well in the Yugoslav FA, which prompted the new coach Ilija Petković to resign only after one game (2–0 away victory against Luxembourg).

Milovan Đorić took over the team, but under his leadership, the team managed only two draws (1–1 at home vs. Switzerland and also 1–1 away in Slovenia, in both games the opponents managed to equalise in late stages of the game) and a 0–1 home loss to Russia (which marked the team's first home defeat in official matches). After Đorić's resignation, a three-man commission, consisting of Dejan Savićević, Vujadin Boškov, and Ivan Ćurković, took over the coaching duties, until Savićević ultimately took over on his own. The team managed to bounce back with a draw in Russia and a win in Switzerland, but failed to defeat Slovenia in the penultimate game, thus ended the qualifiers in third position.

Another failure came in the Euro 2004 qualifiers while competing for the first time as Serbia and Montenegro. Despite drawing both games against group favorites and eventual group winners Italy and winning both games against runner-ups Wales, Serbia and Montenegro failed to qualify, mostly due to embarrassing 2–2 home draw and 2–1 away loss to Azerbaijan.

Serbia and Montenegro began their 2006 World Cup campaign by finishing first with an undefeated record in their qualification group ahead of favourites Spain. The Serbia and Montenegro team also allowed only one goal in the 10 matches, the best defensive record out 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 coach, Serbia and Montenegro played some impressive defensive football—the "Famous Four" defense, consisting of Nemanja Vidić, Mladen Krstajić, Goran Gavrančić, and Ivica Dragutinović, with Dragoslav Jevrić as goalkeeper, allowed only one goal in ten games, finishing first with a 6–4–0 record, ahead of Spain.

In the 2006 World Cup 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, the country'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 Côte d'Ivoire. 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 a disappointing 0–0–3 World Cup run.

2006-2010

Serbia marked independence with a 3-1 win over the Czech Republic. The Euro 2008 qualification process began not long after in 2007 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. This meant the sacking of Serbia's first ever foreign coach Javier Clemente.

Serbia replaced Javier Clemente with Miroslav Dukic leaving the position on 19 August of the following year without having played any official games, due to various problems with the Football Association. Radomir Antić was then appointed coach and success followed. Serbia's world cup qualification fight began in 2008 and there group 7 table featured teams like former world cup champions and 2006 Fifa World Cup Runners up France, Romania, Austria, Lithuania and Faroe islands. Serbia's consistency personified during the qualifiers and brought them to the top of the table meaning automatic qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. They confirmed qualification with a commanding 5-0 win at home against Romania condemning the former world cup finalists France to the play off's.

Serbia's form going into the world cup was solid and were the dark horses of the tournament featuring stars like Nemanja Vidić and captain Dejan Stanković in there squad. In there first tournament as an independent nation, they were to face Ghana, Germany and Australia in group D considered to be a very open group for second place.

The first game was very even against Ghana and chances came to both sides but a red card to Aleksandar Lukovic and a handball by substitute Zdravko Kuzmanovic helped Ghana along and eventually gave them a penalty and an Opportunity to take all three points at the death, Asamoah Gyan converted eight minutes from time and Serbia were defeated.

The second match was considered to be one of the surprises of the tournament where they defeated one of the many world cup favorites Germany 1-0 with a Milan Jovanović goal late in the first half.

Serbia only needed a single point to reach the knock out stages but were defeated by Australia in an exciting match where Serbia's dominance in the first half and in period's of the second half would have made it look like a Serbia victory. Though they were their own worst enemy there failure to convert chances again proved costly with Australia scoring 2 goals in the second half through Tim Cahill and Brett Holman.Serbia would be knocked out even though for a late Marko Pantelić goal. 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 coaching career. The sacking meant the bringing in of Vladimir Petrovic to the job.

Euro 2012

Serbia once again failed to qualify for the European championships making it 12 years since taking part in the championships. Serbia was drawn in Group C featuring Italy,Slovenia,Estonia, Northern Ireland and the Faroe Islands. The qualifying stage began with Radomir Antic and finished by Vladimir Petrovic. Serbia and Radomir Antic 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 Radomir Antic reign as coach of Serbia. New coach Vladimir Petrovic faced set backs immediately with an embarrassing 3-1 loss at home to Estonia and an abandoned match resulting in a 3-0 loss to Italy due to crowd trouble from the Serbian away supporters in Genoa.

Serbia returned to form with a 2-1 win at home over Northern Ireland but felt harsh done by after a 1-1 draw away to Estonia, there failure to convert chances and a late disallowed winning goal only getting Serbia one point for there efforts.

After that draw Serbia had 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 putting 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 there courage only brought upon a 1-1 draw, a Marko Pantelic header just over the bar showing the frustration of the players and fans in the Marakana stadium. Serbia though had one more chance to confirm a play off placing going away to Slovenia. This game was a must win even though Serbia had a superior goal difference over Estonia, a draw was not good enough for progression. Serbia played positively and created a number of chances during the game but a late long range goal put Slovenia up 1-0 at half time. A number of chances for Serbia in the second half went begging for Serbia mainly from Milos Krasic and a big chance from the penalty spot for Nemanja Vidic mid way through the second half. 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.

Vladimir Petrovic was sacked not long after the failure.

Competitive record

The Serbian Football Association is deemed the direct successor to both SFR Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro by FIFA, and therefore the inheritor to all the records of the defunct nations.

FIFA World Cup record Year Round Position GP W D L GS GA 1930 Semi-Final 4 3 2 0 1 7 7 1934 Did not qualify 1938 1950 Round 1 5 3 2 0 1 7 3 1954 Quarter-Final 7 3 1 1 1 2 3 1958 Quarter-Final 5 4 1 2 1 7 7 1962 Semi-Final 4 6 3 0 3 10 7 1966 Did not qualify 1970 1974 Round 2 7 6 1 2 3 12 7 1978 Did not qualify 1982 Round 1 16 3 1 1 1 2 2 1986 Did not qualify 1990 Quarter-finals 5 5 3 1 1 8 6 1994 Suspended 1998 Round of 16 9 4 2 1 1 5 4 2002 Did not qualify 2006 Round 1 32 3 0 0 3 2 10 2010 Round 1 23 3 1 0 2 2 3 2014 2018 2022 Total 11/19 - 43 17 8 18 62 59 List of FIFA World Cup matches Year Round Opponent Score Result 1930 Round 1  Brazil 2–1 Win Round 1  Bolivia 4–0 Win Semi-final  Uruguay 1–6 Loss 1950 Round 1  Switzerland 3–0 Win Round 1  Mexico 4–1 Win Round 1  Brazil 0–2 Loss 1954 Round 1  France 1–0 Win Round 1  Brazil 1–1 Draw Quarter-finals  West Germany 0–2 Loss 1958 Round 1  Scotland 1–1 Draw Round 1  France 3–2 Won Round 1  Paraguay 3–3 Draw Quarter-finals  West Germany 0–1 Loss 1962 Round 1  Soviet Union 0–2 Loss Round 1  Uruguay 3–1 Won Round 1  Colombia 5–0 Won Quarter-finals  West Germany 1–0 Won Semi-finals  Czechoslovakia 1–3 Loss Third place  Chile 0–1 Loss 1974 Round 1  Brazil 0–0 Draw Round 1  Zaire 9–0 Won Round 1  Scotland 1–1 Draw Round 2  West Germany 0–2 Loss Round 2  Poland 1–2 Loss Round 2  Sweden 1–2 Loss 1982 Round 1  Northern Ireland 0–0 Draw Round 1  Spain 1–2 Loss Round 1  Honduras 1–0 Won 1990 Round 1  West Germany 1–4 Loss Round 1  Colombia 1–0 Won Round 1  United Arab Emirates 4–1 Won Round of 16  Spain 2–1 Won Quarter-finals  Argentina 0–0 2–3 (pen.) Draw 1998 Round 1  Iran 1–0 Won Round 1  Germany 2–2 Draw Round 1  United States 1–0 Won Round of 16  Netherlands 1–2 Loss 2006 Round 1  Netherlands 0–1 Loss Round 1  Argentina 0–6 Loss Round 1  Côte d'Ivoire 2–3 Loss 2010 Round 1  Ghana 0–1 Loss Round 1  Germany 1–0 Won Round 1  Australia 1–2 Loss

European Championship record Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA 1960 Runners-up 2 2 1 0 1 1 2 1964 Did not qualify 1968 Runners-up 2 3 1 1 1 2 3 1972 Did not qualify 1976 Fourth place 4 2 0 0 2 4 7 1980 Did not qualify 1984 Round 1 8 3 0 0 3 2 10 1988 Did not qualify 1992 Qualified/Suspended 1996 Suspended 2000 Quarter-finals 8 4 1 1 2 8 13 2004 Did not qualify 2008 2012 2016 Total 5/14 - 14 3 2 9 17 35 List of UEFA European Championship matches Year Round Opponent Score Result 1960 Semi-final  France 5–4 Won Final  Soviet Union 1–2 Loss 1968 Semi-final  England 1–0 Won Final  Italy 1–1 Draw Final replay  Italy 0–2 Loss 1976 Semi-final  West Germany 2–4 Loss Final  Netherlands 2–3 Loss 1984 Round 1  Belgium 0–2 Loss Round 1  Denmark 0–5 Loss Round 1  France 2–3 Loss 2000 Round 1  Slovenia 3–3 Draw Round of 16  Norway 1–0 Won Round of 16  Spain 3–4 Loss Quarter-final  Netherlands 1–6 Loss

*It was not third place playoff, but Yugoslavia has been awarded one bronze medal^[4][5]

Euro 2012

Qualification

Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Italy 10 8 2 0 20 2 +18 26  Estonia 10 5 1 4 15 14 +1 16  Serbia 10 4 3 3 13 12 +1 15  Slovenia 10 4 2 4 11 7 +4 14  Northern Ireland 10 2 3 5 9 13 −4 9  Faroe Islands 10 1 1 8 6 26 −20 4

Estonia  — 2–1 1–2 4–1 1–1 0–1 Faroe Islands  2–0 — 0–1 1–1 0–3 0–2 Italy  3–0 5–0 — 3–0 3–0* 1–0 Northern Ireland  1–2 4–0 0–0 — 0–1 0–0 Serbia  1–3 3–1 1–1 2–1 — 1–1 Slovenia  1–2 5–1 0–1 0–1 1–0 —

Top Goalscorers during Qualification

3 goals

Marko Pantelić

Nikola Žigić

2 goals

• Zoran Tošić

1 goal

Branislav Ivanović Milan Jovanović

Zdravko Kuzmanović Danko Lazović

Dejan Stanković

2014 FIFA World Cup

Qualification

Serbia will be competing in Group A in qualification for 2014 FIFA World Cup, together with Croatia, Belgium, Scotland, Macedonia, and Wales.

Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Croatia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Serbia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Belgium 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Scotland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Macedonia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Wales 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Belgium  — 11 Sep '12 26 Mar '13 16 Oct '12 7 Jun '13 15 Oct '13 Croatia  11 Oct '13 — 7 Sep '12 7 Jun '13 22 Mar '13 16 Oct '12 Macedonia  22 Mar '13 12 Oct '12 — 10 Sep '13 16 Oct '12 6 Sep '13 Scotland  6 Sep '13 15 Oct '13 11 Sep '12 — 8 Sep '12 22 Mar '13 Serbia  12 Oct '12 6 Sep '13 15 Oct '13 26 Mar '13 — 11 Sep '12 Wales  7 Sep '12 26 Mar '13 11 Oct '13 12 Oct '12 10 Sep '13 —

Recent results and forthcoming fixtures

Date	Venues	Opponents	Results*	Scorers	Type of Games
9 February 2011	Tel Aviv, Israel	Israel	2:0 (1:0)	Tošić (22') Trivunović (77')	Friendly
March 25, 2011	Belgrade, Serbia	Northern Ireland	2:1 (0:1)	McAuley (40') Pantelić (65') Tošić (74')	Euro 2012 Quali.
March 29, 2011	Tallinn, Estonia	Estonia	1:1 (1:0)	Pantelić (38') Vassiljev (85')
3 June 2011	Seoul, South Korea	South Korea	1:2 (0:1)	Park Chu-Young (10') Kim Young-Kwon (53') Petrović (85')	Friendly
7 June 2011	Melbourne, Australia	Australia	0:0 (0:0)
10 August 2011	Moscow, Russia	Russia	0:1 (0:0)	Pogrebnyak (53')
September 2, 2011	Belfast, N. Ireland	Northern Ireland	1:0 (0:0)	Pantelić (67')	Euro 2012 Quali.
September 6, 2011	Belgrade, Serbia	Faroe Islands	3:1 (2:1)	Jovanović (6') Tošić (23') Benjaminsen (37') Kuzmanović (69')
October 7, 2011	Belgrade, Serbia	Italy	1:1 (1:1)	Marchisio (1') Ivanović (26')
October 11, 2011	Maribor, Slovenia	Slovenia	0:1 (0:1)	Vršič (45')
November 12, 2011	Querétaro, Mexico	Mexico	0:2 (0:1)	Salcido (2') Hernández (88' pen.)	Friendly
November 15, 2011	San Pedro Sula, Honduras	Honduras	0:2 (0:2)	Bengtson (6') Bengtson (30')
February 28, 2012	Cyprus	TBD
February 29, 2012	Cyprus	TBD
September 8, 2012		Scotland			2014 World Cup Quali.
September 11, 2012		Wales
October 12, 2012		Belgium
October 16, 2012		Macedonia
March 22, 2013		Croatia
March 26, 2013		Scotland
June 7, 2013		Belgium
September 6, 2013		Croatia
September 10, 2013		Wales
October 15, 2013		Macedonia

* Serbia's scores are always listed first

Head coaches

Last update 14 November 2011

Manager	Period	Record							Achievements
		Matches	Won	Win %	Drawn	Draw %	Lost	Loss %
Radovan Ćurčić[note 1]	2010–	3	1	33,33	0	0	2	66,66
Vladimir Petrović	2010–2011	13	5	38,46	3	23,08	5	38,46
Radomir Antić	2008–2010	28	17	60,71	3	10,71	8	28,57	Group stage on 2010 World Cup
Miroslav Đukić	2007–2008	5	0	0,00	2	40,00	3	60,00
Javier Clemente	2006–2007	16	7	43,75	7	43,75	2	12,5	First head coach of independent Serbian team First foreign coach
Ilija Petković	2003–2006	30	11	36,66	10	33,33	9	30,00	Group stage on 2006 World Cup
Dejan Savićević	2001–2003	17	4	23,53	3	17,65	10	58,82
Vujadin Boškov Ivan Ćurković Dejan Savićević	2001	8	4	50,00	2	25,00	2	25,00
Milovan Đorić	2001	3	0	0,00	2	66,66	1	33,33
Ilija Petković	2000–2001	4	2	50,00	1	25,00	1	25,00
Vujadin Boškov	1999–2000	15	6	40,00	5	33,33	4	26,66	Quarter-final on Euro 2000
Milan Živadinović	1998–1999	6	3	50,00	2	33,33	1	16,66
Slobodan Santrač	1994–1998	43	26	60,46	10	23,25	7	16,28	First head coach since the break up of SFRY Round of 16 on 1998 World Cup

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

Squad

Current squad

Squad called up for the friendly matches against Mexico and Honduras on 11 and 14 November 2011.^[6]

Caps and goals updated as of 14 November 2011.

0#0 Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club 1 GK Vladimir Stojković 28 July 1983 (1983-07-28) (age 28) 38 0 Partizan 12 GK Željko Brkić 9 July 1986 (1986-07-09) (age 25) 5 0 Siena 23 GK Damir Kahriman 19 November 1984 (1984-11-19) (age 27) 3 0 Tavriya Simferopol 6 DF Branislav Ivanović 22 February 1984 (1984-02-22) (age 27) 47 5 Chelsea 11 DF Aleksandar Kolarov 10 November 1985 (1985-11-10) (age 26) 27 0 Manchester City 5 DF Slobodan Rajković 3 February 1989 (1989-02-03) (age 23) 11 0 Hamburger SV 13 DF Nenad Tomović 30 August 1987 (1987-08-30) (age 24) 9 0 Lecce 2 DF Pavle Ninkov 20 April 1985 (1985-04-20) (age 26) 6 0 Toulouse 16 DF Milan Vilotić 21 October 1986 (1986-10-21) (age 25) 3 0 Red Star Belgrade 3 DF Vladimir Volkov 6 June 1986 (1986-06-06) (age 25) 1 0 Partizan 17 MF Miloš Krasić 1 November 1984 (1984-11-01) (age 27) 46 3 Juventus 22 MF Zdravko Kuzmanović 22 September 1987 (1987-09-22) (age 24) 43 5 VfB Stuttgart 14 MF Milan Jovanović 18 April 1981 (1981-04-18) (age 30) 42 11 Anderlecht 7 MF Boško Janković 1 April 1984 (1984-04-01) (age 27) 28 5 Genoa 15 MF Radosav Petrović 8 March 1989 (1989-03-08) (age 22) 25 1 Blackburn Rovers 18 MF Miloš Ninković 25 December 1984 (1984-12-25) (age 27) 24 0 Dynamo Kyiv 4 MF Gojko Kačar 26 January 1987 (1987-01-26) (age 25) 24 0 Hamburger SV 8 MF Adem Ljajić 29 September 1991 (1991-09-29) (age 20) 6 0 Fiorentina 10 MF Nemanja Tomić 21 January 1988 (1988-01-21) (age 24) 2 1 Partizan 19 FW Nikola Žigić (C) 25 September 1980 (1980-09-25) (age 31) 57 20 Birmingham City 9 FW Dragan Mrđa 23 January 1984 (1984-01-23) (age 28) 12 2 Sion 21 FW Andrija Kaluđerović 5 July 1987 (1987-07-05) (age 24) 3 0 Red Star Belgrade

Recent call-ups

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

Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club Latest Call-up GK Bojan Jorgačević 12 February 1982 (1982-02-12) (age 30) 7 0 Club Brugge v.  Slovenia, 11 October 2011 GK Bojan Šaranov 22 September 1987 (1987-09-22) (age 24) 1 0 Maccabi Haifa v.  South Korea, 3 June 2011 DF Nemanja Vidić 21 October 1981 (1981-10-21) (age 30) 56 2 Manchester United v.  Slovenia, 11 October 2011 DF Neven Subotić 10 December 1988 (1988-12-10) (age 23) 28 1 Borussia Dortmund v.  Slovenia, 11 October 2011 DF Milan Biševac 31 August 1983 (1983-08-31) (age 28) 9 0 Paris Saint-Germain v.  Faroe Islands, 6 September 2011 DF Ivan Obradović 25 July 1988 (1988-07-25) (age 23) 18 1 Real Zaragoza v.  Australia, 7 June 2011 MF Dejan Stanković 11 September 1978 (1978-09-11) (age 33) 102 15 Internazionale v.  Slovenia, 11 October 2011 MF Zoran Tošić 28 April 1987 (1987-04-28) (age 24) 37 7 CSKA Moscow v.  Slovenia, 11 October 2011 MF Nenad Milijaš 30 April 1983 (1983-04-30) (age 28) 25 4 Wolverhampton Wanderers v.  Slovenia, 11 October 2011 MF Ljubomir Fejsa 14 August 1988 (1988-08-14) (age 23) 5 0 Olympiacos v.  Italy, 7 October 2011 MF Veseljko Trivunović 13 January 1980 (1980-01-13) (age 32) 6 1 Gabala v.  Russia, 10 August 2011 MF Marko Mirić 26 March 1987 (1987-03-26) (age 24) 3 0 Spartak Zlatibor Voda v.  Australia, 7 June 2011 MF Branislav Jovanović 21 November 1985 (1985-11-21) (age 26) 1 0 Rad v.  Australia, 7 June 2011 MF Dušan Petronijević 9 November 1983 (1983-11-09) (age 28) 1 0 Shakhter Karagandy v.  South Korea, 3 June 2011 MF Dimitrije Injac 12 August 1980 (1980-08-12) (age 31) 1 0 Lech Poznań v.  Israel, 9 February 2011 FW Marko Pantelić 15 September 1978 (1978-09-15) (age 33) 43 10 Olympiacos v.  Slovenia, 11 October 2011 FW Jovan Damjanović 4 October 1982 (1982-10-04) (age 29) 3 0 Borac Čačak v.  Russia, 10 August 2011 FW Ranko Despotović 21 January 1983 (1983-01-21) (age 29) 4 0 Urawa Red Diamonds v.  Australia, 7 June 2011 FW Brana Ilić 16 February 1985 (1985-02-16) (age 27) 1 0 Vojvodina v.  South Korea, 3 June 2011

Player Statistics

Statistics do not include Serbian players who have played for the SFR Yugoslavia national team exclusively.

Most appearances As of 14 November 2011[7] # Name National team career Caps Goals 1 Savo Milošević 1994–2008 102 37 Dejan Stanković 1998–2011 102 15 3 Dragan Stojković 1983–2001 84 15 4 Predrag Mijatović 1989–2003 73 28 5 Slaviša Jokanović 1991–2002 64 10 6 Siniša Mihajlović 1991–2003 63 9 7 Mladen Krstajić 1999–2008 59 2 Zoran Mirković 1995–2003 59 0 9 Darko Kovačević 1994–2004 58 10 10 Nikola Žigić 2004– 57 20

Most goals As of 14 November 2011 # Name National team career Goals Caps Average 1 Savo Milošević 1994–2008 37 102 0.36 2 Predrag Mijatović 1989–2003 28 73 0.38 3 Nikola Žigić 2004– 20 57 0.35 4 Dejan Savićević 1986–2003 19 56 0.34 5 Mateja Kezman 2000–2006 17 49 0.34 6 Dragan Stojković 1983–2001 15 84 0.18 Dejan Stanković 1998–2011 15 102 0.15 8 Milan Jovanović 2007 – 11 42 0.26 Danko Lazović 2002–2011 11 43 0.25 10 Marko Pantelić 2003 – 10 42 0.24 Darko Kovačević 1994–2004 10 58 0.17 Slaviša Jokanović 1991–2002 10 64 0.15

• Players in bold are still active/available for selection.

Captains (after 1994)

Name	Period
Dragan Stojković	1994–2001
Savo Milošević	2001–2006
Dejan Stanković	2008–2011
Nikola Žigić	2011–

Team image

Nickname

Former

Ever since the first game played by FR Yugoslavia on 23 December 1994 the team had the nickname of Plavi (Плави), literally the Blues. This was notably due to the fact the team wore blue jerseys, which they inherited from the former Yugoslavia national football team. The trend continued even when the team switched names to Serbia and Montenegro, as flags, anthem, and kits remained virtually the same. However, as Montenegro declared independence from the State Union on 3 June 2006, on the basis of a referendum held on 21 May 2006, the newly formed Serbia national team needed a new nickname, as red replaced blue as the team's primary colour.

Current

As of 16 August 2006, when Serbia played its first international match as a resurrected national team (against the Czech Republic), the team is called the Орлови (Eagles).^[8] The name is referring to the white double-headed eagle found on the coat of arms of Serbia, a national symbol of Serbia and Serbs.

Jerseys and Colour

Home gear in Red-Blue-White tricolour (Serbian tricolour).

• since 2008
  • 2010 FIFA World Cup: Nike
  • UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying: Nike

• 2006
  • 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification: Lotto

Recognized players

International recognized players.

Active:

• Nemanja Vidić (Premier League 2006–) Centre Back
  • Barclays Player of the Season (08-09 and 10–11)
  • Part of PFA Team of the Year: 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011
  • Manchester United Fans & Players "Player of the Year" 2008–09
  • FIFPro World XI Award 2009
  • Premier League Player of the Month – January 2009
  • Serbian Footballer of the Year – 2005, 2008

• Branislav Ivanović (Premier League 2008–) Right/Centre back
  • Part of PFA Team of the Year: 2010

• Mateja Kežman (Striker/Winger)
  • Yugoslav First League Top Scorer: 2000
  • Yugoslav Footballer of the Year: 2000
  • Eredivisie Top Scorer: 2001, 2003, 2004
  • UEFA Cup Top Scorer: 2004^[9][10]
  • Dutch Footballer of the Year: 2003

Retired:

• Savo Milošević (La Liga 2002–2007) Striker
  • UEFA Euro 2000 Golden Boot
  • UEFA Euro 2000 Team of the Tournament
  • First League of FR Yugoslavia Top Scorer: 1994, 1995

• Siniša Mihajlović (Serie A 1992–2006) Left Back/Midfielder
  • ranked #2^[11] #8,^[12] #10^[13] of Best free-kickers in history.
  • ranked #30^[14] of Best scorers in defense

• Predrag Mijatović
  • Ballon d'Or 1997 – 2nd place

• Dragan Džajić
  • Ballon d'Or 1968 – 3rd place
  • UEFA Golden Player

See also

• Serbia - International balance at Serbian national football team
• Serbia national football team results
• Serbia national under-21 football team
• Serbia national under-19 football team
• List of Serbia international footballers (including predecessor teams)

References

External links

Official

• Football Association of Serbia – Official Site (Serbian)
• Serbian National Football Team (Serbian)
• UEFA team profile
• FIFA team profile

Unofficial

• Beli Orlovi (Serbian)
• Serbian football at xtratime.org
• BeliOrlovi.rs - Fan Site (Serbian)

Serbia national football team General History · Head coaches Venues Marakana · Home venues Statistics Results and Fixtures Players World Cup & Euro Championship squads · Other categories World Cup Finals 1930 · 1950 · 1954 · 1958 · 1962 · 1974 · 1982 · 1990 · 1998 · 2006 · 2010 UEFA Euro Finals 1960 · 1968 · 1976 · 1984 · 2000 Other FSS teams Men (Under-23 · Under-21 · Under-19 · Under-18 · Under-17 · Under-16) · Women

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Finalists 1998 FIFA World Cup finalists Champions France Runners-up Brazil Third place Croatia Fourth place Netherlands Eliminated in the quarter-finals Argentina · Denmark · Germany · Italy Eliminated in the round of 16 Chile · England · Mexico · Nigeria · Norway · Paraguay · Romania · FR Yugoslavia Eliminated in the group stage Austria · Belgium · Bulgaria · Cameroon · Colombia · Iran · Jamaica · Japan · Korea Republic · Morocco · Scotland · Saudi Arabia · South Africa · Spain · Tunisia · United States 2006 FIFA World Cup finalists Champions Italy Runners-up France Third place Germany Fourth place Portugal Eliminated in the quarter-finals Argentina · Brazil · England · Ukraine Eliminated in the round of 16 Australia · Ecuador · Ghana · Mexico · Netherlands · Spain · Sweden · Switzerland Eliminated in the group stage Angola · Costa Rica · Côte d'Ivoire · Croatia · Czech Republic · Iran · Japan · Korea Republic · Paraguay · Poland · Saudi Arabia · Serbia & Montenegro · Togo · Trinidad and Tobago · Tunisia · United States 2010 FIFA World Cup finalists Champions Spain Runners-up Netherlands Third place Germany Fourth place Uruguay Eliminated in the quarterfinals Argentina · Brazil · Ghana · Paraguay Eliminated in the round of 16 Chile · England · Japan · Korea Republic · Mexico · Portugal · Slovakia · United States Eliminated in group stage Algeria · Australia · Cameroon · Côte d'Ivoire · Denmark · France · Greece · Honduras · Italy · Korea DPR · New Zealand · Nigeria · Serbia · Slovenia · South Africa · Switzerland UEFA Euro 2000 finalists Champions France Runners-up Italy Eliminated in semi-finals Netherlands · Portugal Eliminated in quarter-finals Romania · Spain · Turkey · FR Yugoslavia Eliminated in group stage Belgium · Czech Rep. · Denmark · England · Germany · Norway · Slovenia · Sweden

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