Disappointed but proud: this is how coach Dragan Stojkovic commented on the elimination of his Serbia in the groups. A result certainly not up to the value of the team, which started with very different ambitions and with the aim of winning the round of 16 for the first time since it presented itself as an independent nation. Disappointing above all was the way in which the exclusion occurred, in an affordable group, England aside: zero wins and only one goal scored, by AC Milan player Jovic in the match against Slovenia, no one did so badly in the attacking phase at the Euro 2024. Furthermore, Serbia is also one of the teams that has kicked the least amount of shots on goal.
the stars disappoint
—
All this despite Vlahovic and Mitrovic, one second best scorer in Serie A and the other 40 goals this season in Arabia. The big names have stopped, not only the two attackers (the coexistence between two centre-forwards is difficult, given that the Juventus player ended up on the bench against Denmark) but also captain Tadic (excluded from the starting eleven two times out of three) and Sergej Milinkovic Savic (also for him two out of three benches). Among the Italians, zero appearances for Torino goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic Savic and little space for Jovic, one of the most positive up front. Udinese’s Samardzic also did badly, impalpable against Denmark, his only chance from the start.
the words of the coach
—
“We are sorry that we were not able to take the step we were missing – said the coach -. I’m proud of my boys, we did well in a very balanced group. The fans should be too. We fought until the last second.”
criticisms
—
“We all believed until the last seconds that we could beat Denmark and go through to the knockout stage,” added Fiorentina defender Milenkovic. “We played a really good match, but unfortunately we didn’t win. We are disappointed, we wanted to make the Serbian nation very happy; we will certainly learn from our mistakes.” The early exit was not taken well in Serbia: criticism especially towards the most representative players, from whom more was expected. Including Vlahovic, who has not yet managed to become a leader in the national team: his last goal (a brace against Montenegro) dates back to March 2023: too little for someone with his talent, who however struggles to play alongside Mitrovic, a first striker like him. Stojkovic has no shortage of talent, but he has not managed to find a way to make the most of them.
