The Serbia Euro 2024 squad kicked off their Euro 2024 campaign against England on Sunday in a 1-0 defeat against the tournament favourites in Gelsenkirchen. After that, they dramatically snatched an injury time equaliser vs Slovenia to keep their Euros alive.
After a less than assured qualifying campaign, Dragan Stojkovic's men arrived in Germany with less hope and enthusiasm than they did to Qatar in 2022. That tournament highlighted everything this unit lacks - an ability to hold onto leads, chief among them.
Despite that, Serbia arguably have options to rival anyone in former Fulham star Aleksandar Mitrovic, Juventus hero Dusan Vlahovic and ex-Real Madrid forward Luka Jovic, while captain Dusan Tadic is now 35 and perhaps playing his last tournament at Euro 2024.
Elsewhere, Dorde Petrovic has impressed for Chelsea, Fulham midfielder Sasa Lukic is another solid player from west London and Saudi-based Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is a superstar in midfield. There isn't a real world-class defender in the group – but that might make for more fun for the neutral.
Firepower may come in handy in the pursuit of a third-placed spot to get into the next round, too. With England and Denmark expected to take one and two in Group C, the Eagles need to win vs the Danes to progress.
This is the Serbians' first Euros as an independent nation. FR Yugoslavia last entered this competition in 2000, reaching the quarter-finals and no player scored more than Savo Milosevic. That would be seen as a superb showing this time around – really, the goal is just to get into the next round and see where that takes them.
With the potential to cause a few upsets, FourFourTwo will cover all the latest on Serbia as well as every other Euro 2024 squad, with details on how to watch every fixture at the tournament.
VIDEO: Top 10 Euro 2024 Kits
Serbia Euro 2024 squad
Serbia Euro 2024 squad: The full 26-man team
- GK: Predrag Rajković (Mallorca)
- GK: Vanja Milinković-Savić (Torino)
- GK: Đorđe Petrović (Chelsea)
- DF: Nikola Milenković (Fiorentina)
- DF: Strahinja Pavlović (Red Bull Salzburg)
- DF: Filip Mladenović (Panathinaikos)
- DF: Miloš Veljković (Werder Bremen)
- DF: Uroš Spajić (Red Star Belgrade)
- DF: Srđan Babić (Spartak Moscow)
- DF: Nemanja Stojić (TSC)
- MF: Nemanja Gudelj (Sevilla)
- MF: Dušan Tadić (Fenerbahçe)
- MF: Filip Kostić (Juventus)
- MF: Sergej Milinković-Savić (Al Hilal)
- MF: Nemanja Maksimović (Getafe)
- MF: Saša Lukić (Fulham)
- MF: Andrija Živković (PAOK)
- MF: Mijat Gaćinović (AEK Athens)
- MF: Ivan Ilić (Torino)
- MF: Srđan Mijailović (Red Star Belgrade)
- MF: Lazar Samardžić (Udinese)
- MF: Veljko Birmančević (Sparta Prague)
- FW: Aleksandar Mitrović (Al Hilal)
- FW: Luka Jović (Milan)
- FW: Dušan Vlahović (Juventus)
- FW: Petar Ratkov (Red Bull Salzburg)
Serbia Euro 2024 squad numbers
Serbia fixtures and results
June 16: Serbia 0-1 England, Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
June 20, Slovenia 1-1 Serbia, Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany
June 25: Denmark v Serbia, Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany
Serbia Euro 2024 yellow cards and suspensions
1 yellow: Dusan Tadic, Nemanja Guedlj
Serbia manager: Dragan Stojkovic
Before the last World Cup, Dragan Stojkovic was a national treasure leading a thrilling new generation. Two years on, the former midfield conductor is under significantly more scrutiny as his team haven't improved in any department.
The 59-year-old continues to lean on charisma over tactics; sceptics are now questioning if that's sufficient.
Serbia's star player
Aleksandar Mitrovic
Once a fiery youngster, now a fiery 29-year-old, Aleksandar Mitrovic delights fans by displaying fighting spirit and a decisive ability in front of goal, helped by his link-ups with two talented playmakers behind him.
Serbia's greatest goalscorer is still netting for fun, only in Saudi Arabia, but he was hooked after an hour vs England, and wasn't much better vs Slovenia. Mitro needs a spark if he's going to catch fire in Germany.
Strengths
Such attacking depth that €70 million Juventus forward Dusan Vlahovic has to accept a place on the bench as understudy to vice-captain Aleksandar Mitrovic. Skipper Dusan Tadic makes the team tick and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic provides leggy gas.
Unexpectedly, Serbia also have options in goal: Chelsea's Djordje Petrovic is vying for the starting spot with Predrag Rajkovic-very reliable for Mallorca all season- and Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, who was Serbia's No.1 in qualifying and is part of a stubborn Torino resistance.
Weaknesses
Anything remotely to do with defence. Stojkovic, unsure about implementing a vulnerable three-man backline, tried a flat four against Russia in March's friendly and Serbia were thumped 4-0. Little has progressed since the World Cup, when the same group of players led Cameroon 3-1 and Switzerland 2-1 but soon fell to pieces, drawing the first game 3-3 and losing the second 3-2.
Most likely to
Talk up their chances before imploding on the big stage. Every. Single. Time.
Least likely to
Be dull. They were top scorers in their Qatar 2022 group and still came last, then on the eve of their second group game they threatened to withdraw from the tournament.
What they hope will happen
Reaching the last 16 allows them to be the underdog in the knockouts, which is when the Eagles are most dangerous.
What will happen
Third in Group C; last 16 if they’re lucky
More Serbia stories
Euro 2024 injuries: Every player missing the tournament
Euro 2024 top scorers: The leaders for the Golden Boot
Euro 2024 fixtures and results – full schedule, dates and UK TV channels
