Serbia national under-21 football team

The Serbia national under-21 football team (Serbian: Mlada reprezentacija Srbije, Mлaдa Peпpeзeнтaциja Crбиje) is the national under-21 football team of Serbia and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia.

This team is for Serbian players aged 21 or under at the start of a two-year UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship campaign, so players can be, and often are, up to 23 years old. Also in existence are teams for Under-20s (for non-UEFA tournaments), Under-19s and Under 17s. As long as they are eligible, players can play at any level, making it possible to play for the U21s, senior side and again for the U21s, as Milan Smiljanić, Gojko Kačar and Miralem Sulejmani have done recently. It is also possible to play for one country at youth level and another at senior level (providing the player is eligible). Nikola Drinčić is a currently Montenegrin international and former Serbia U21 player.

The team is considered the successor to the Serbia and Montenegro national under-21 football team, which in turn was the successor to the Yugoslavia national under-21 football team.

History

The Yugoslav U21 team represented Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia until the country dissolved in 1992. In 1996 an under-21 team representing the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia began playing. The FR Yugoslavia (and the team) changed name to Serbia and Montenegro in 2003.

In 2006 Serbia and Montenegro separated, with its governing body converting into the Football Association of Serbia. The Serbian under-21 team has assumed Serbia and Montenegro's place in the qualifying round for the UEFA U-21 Championship 2007, whilst Montenegro was not able to compete internationally at U21 level until a Montenegrin FA was established.

Competition history

As FR Yugoslavia/Serbia and Montenegro

The senior team played its first match in December 1994. The U21s' first competitive matches were in the qualification stage of the 1998 competition.

The under-21 team failed to qualify for the first three UEFA Under-21 competitions it entered, but were runners-up in the 2004 tournament. In their final championship, taking place in Portugal, Serbia and Montenegro qualified for semifinals, where they lost on penalties to Ukraine.

For the period prior to 1992, please see the Yugoslavia national under-21 football team.

As Serbia

Serbia's under-21 national team qualified for the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship held in the Netherlands, in June 2007, after a remarkable two game play-off against Sweden. After a shocking 3–0 loss at home, Serbia overturned the result two weeks later, defeating Sweden 5–0, and advancing to the final tournament. Serbia's 2007 U21 Championship campaign was very successful, as they finished in second place, losing the final to the hosts, by a score of 4–1. On their way to the final, they defeated Italy (1–0), Czech Republic (1–0) and Belgium (2–0). The only other loss, besides the final, was the 3rd group game against England (0–2), which was a meaningless game for the Serbian team, as they had already qualified for the semifinals.

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.

Players

Players born in 1990 or later are eligible for the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.

Current squad

The following players have been called up to participate in a 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualification match against Macedonia on 7 October and Denmark on 11 october.^[1]

Coaches

See also

• UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
• Serbia national football team
• Serbia national under-19 football team
• Yugoslavia national under-21 football team

External links

• Football Association of Serbia
• The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation Contains full record of U-21 Championships.

References