Athletistic/ Football. On September 5, Serbia will host Spain in the Nations League match. “Red Fury” are the current European and Nations League champions. In the last final, De la Fuente’s team beat Croatia. The Spaniards are now among the big favorites. In the group, the teams will also face Switzerland and Denmark. A very complex quartet. Spain will probably use a less than optimal composition. However, the match will take place away, and the players are objectively tired of the busy schedule.
The Nations League is definitely not a priority at this stage of the season. It is important that in this draw, two teams immediately leave the League A group. In other words, you can afford a lot more mistakes during the tournament. The application for the match against Serbia is generally no different from that of Euro 2024, but there are still some changes in points. De la Fuente called up Valencia midfielder Pepela, there was a place for Celta defender Oscar Mingueza, and the talent of Jeremi Pinault will get another chance in attack. Of course, the composition will certainly not coincide with the final of the European Championship.
The Serbian national team was promoted to League A thanks to the victory of its quartet in the last edition: the team managed to beat Norway, Slovenia and Sweden. After success in a difficult undertaking, Dragan Stojkovic’s team was supposed to make a breakthrough at Euro 2024, but a new failure was recorded there: two points, one goal and a primitive game, despite a scattering of stars in the lineup. The leaders of Serbian football decided not to change course. Stojkovic remained head coach. The specialist was given another chance, given some stability at least in the matches and qualifications of the Nations League.
There are several important changes in the team. This time, the captain and all-time top scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic is not called up, Dusan Tadic has retired, and veterans Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Nemanja Gudelj are missing. The team seems to be heading towards a rejuvenation of its squad. In this bid, Milan striker Luka Jovic becomes the main striker. Only one player is over 30: third goalkeeper Aleksandar Jovanovic. Serbia is starting to build a new team for the 2026 World Cup. Of course, the owners will have no problem with motivation. The young and hungry team will try to show its best against the formidable European champions.
For the Red Fury, the match is not so important and the players are tired of their recent achievements. The experimental composition of the guests may not be able to cope with the direct pressure of the opponent. Serbia, even without older stars, has very promising combinations – the core will be from the best European leagues.
Andrey Andreev, Sport.Ru
Source: Sport
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
