Stojkovic’s struggles continue as Serbia chase euphoria against England

The TV show Only Fools and Horses was extremely popular in Serbia, which is no surprise considering most of the business in this former Yugoslav republic is done in the “grey zone”. Shady people with lots of money and little education are all around in management positions, which is the reason for protests across the country.

For decades, people such as Derek “Del Boy” Trotter – who have good connections and know how “the street works” – have held executive positions at the top of Serbian football. They are perceived as loyal to the ruling political party (currently the Serbian Progressive party). It is the main reason why people in the country have lost belief in the domestic league and the national team.

There is euphoria from time to time when the Eagles play but, as soon as it looks as if positive energy could last, something negative comes up – such as unnecessary changes of coach, arguments between coach and player(s), or the non-invitation of players who deserve to be there. But mostly, it’s bad football: slow and unattractive. As it is now, with the coach Dragan “Piksi” Stojkovic who, in his time, was one of the best Yugoslav and European players but today, as a manager, is widely regarded as more lucky than smart.

Maybe it is because he was appointed by the Serbian Football Association on his 56th birthday, 3 March 2021, when he probably made a wish for good results. In fairness, Serbia under Stojkovic have two successes out of two when it comes to qualifying for big tournaments, although his win rate is just under 50% after 53 matches, 26 victories, 14 draws, and 13 losses. His biggest win was in Portugal when Aleksandar Mitrovic’s 90th-minute header secured first place in the group and a direct ticket to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Later came Euro 2024 but, if you take out defeats against Brazil (0-2) and England (0-1), who were clear favourites, Serbia played below expectations in those two tournaments. Stojkovic, though, has different thoughts.

“We did everything to make a good impression and, as far as the tournament is concerned, I don’t think we disappointed because no one beat us 5-0, no one laughed at us,” he said after the goalless draw against Denmark in the team’s final match in Germany. “We played the first match against England very well, we deserved something more than a defeat.”

Now, in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Serbia have a chance for revenge. But, again, there is no euphoria among fans. There had been a plan to move the match from Belgrade’s 55,000-seat Rajko Mitic Stadium to Leskovac and the Dubocica Stadium, which has a capacity of 8,000. The Serbian FA eventually decided it would not happen, so the match will be played on Tuesday at the biggest Serbian stadium in Belgrade, home of Crvena Zvezda (Red Star Belgrade), the European champions in 1991.

The attendance is expected to be about 40,000, factoring in the 8,100 seats unavailable because of a Fifa sanction and the safety zone around the England fans, who will be in two sectors between the south and west sides.

It is no secret that most people will come to see the English stars, which is typical when big football names appear in Belgrade for a national or club team.

With only Nikola Milenkovic from Nottingham Forest, Sasa Lukic (Fulham), Djordje Petrovic (Bournemouth) and Nemanja Gudelj (Sevilla) playing consistently for clubs from one of the top five European leagues, it is clear that Serbia would consider a draw against England a success. Just as the 0-0 draw against Spain, the winners of Euro 2024, was at the same venue a year ago in the Nations League.

Stojkovic appears to be short of tactical solutions but the other main problem for Serbia is a lack of form among the attackers. Mitrovic, the all-time top scorer with 62 goals in 100 caps, recently completed a transfer from the Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal to Qatar’s Al Rayyan and has not played this season. Dusan Vlahovic was by the exit door at Juventus all summer but, surprisingly, stayed and came off the bench to score against Parma and Genoa.

Luka Jovic, like Mitrovic, recently changed club in search of minutes. He moved from Milan to AEK Athens, where he joined the Serbian colony with the coach Marko Nikolic and teammates Mijat Gacinovic and Marko Grujic, former national team players.

Stojkovic’s secret weapon may be the 23-year-old Nikola Stulic, who last month joined Lecce from Belgian club Charleroi for €5m.

After saying the line “This time next year we’ll be millionaires” many times, Del Boy eventually became a millionaire so who knows, maybe Piksi and Serbia will win the World Cup next summer. They say the US, one of the co-hosts, is a land of opportunity. First, you have to reach it. Serbia have seven points from three matches. If they beat England, it will be a sign that this team are capable of big things.

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