I dont mean to sound mean, but in a way this is good. We need JNT to test other options and minor changes in first elven especially in those critical areas where we kind of know change is needed. MC, DC, ST
Yeah but someone here said that these two friendlies are not for experiments but to try the (possibly official) starting lineup for WC.
And that says a lot about what's going on with Serbia-situation right now. They failed WC qualification in the worst possible way.
Serbia is still pretty good in the back, even if Subotic is taking an indefinite vacation from the NT. (He should have played for the US...) Unfortunately they are short on real difference makers on the offensive end. Mihajlovic shouldn't have kicked Ljajic out.
Let's not be too optimistic about it, I have a bad feeling about an away game in football crazy country. There is still plenty of good players in this squad.
the worst possible way? wtf? I checked and they only lost an away match against Macedonia, that shouldn't have happened. Other than that, they lost to Belgium who is a powerhouse, and lost with Croatia which is a little better than them. I don't think chances to qualify where much high this time. They are a really good team.
Will definitely be interesting to see how we fare in a super hostile environment. The Balkan countries seem to have the worst problems with hooliganism and racism. Definitely wouldn't be surprised to hear a few monkey chants throughout the match.
I wonder sometimes if you're just serious or not. Serbia NT has been crap for the last four years. Since the debacle of WC2010, something just isn't there. They were full of talent, but they have been able to be overtaken in the EURO2012 qualfiication by Italy (ok) and Estonia (!). They weren't even able of taking the 2nd place. And in this group for WC2014 qualification everything came out pretty clearly: I wouldn't have bet a euro on their qualification. Infact, they get eliminated pretty soon and draw in Scotland, plus not only being befeated, but CRASHED by Belgium at home.
Numbers for the friendlies: ▼GK 1 Kawashima 12 Nishikawa 23 Gonda ▼DF 15 Konno 19 Inoha 5 Nagatomo 6 Morishige 2 Uchida 22 Yoshida 21 Sakai H 3 Sakai G ▼MF 7 Endo 17 Hasebe 13 Hosogai 4 Honda 16 Yamaguchi ▼FW 9 Okazaki 18 Havenaar 14 Inui 10 Kagawa 8 Kiyotake 11 Kakitani 20 Saito
Well, I'm wondering the same myself about you. Serbia NT hasn't been "crap" for the last four years just because they didn't qualify. Infact, they have improved compared to the years before (they also didn't qualify to the Euro2008, you know?). So I have no idea what do you mean with "Since the debacle of WC2010, something just isn't there." Sorry, what have they achieved before result-wise? Especially if you consider that they now lost even more players since when Serbia and Montenegro didn't play together anymore. Let's not confuse Serbia with Yugoslavia please: what are you comparing their result to? I mean, if that's your metric, then they've always been crap, which isn't true of course since they even drew with Italy in those Euro 2012 qualifiers. They destroyed Japan 3-0 before the world cup in one of Okada's hardest moment. Then they beat Germany at the world cup, lost to Australia (who also drew with Ghana) and Ghana. Second: Estonia is the same team that were going to beat the Netherlands in the world cup qualifications at home if it wasn't for a super late Van Persie penalty. They can pull upsets from time to time and suffer great losses when they take goals too. I remember they also beating Uruguay(!) 2-0 in a friendly. I don't know why to make it look as if other teams are piece of shit, when Croatia also lost to Scotland at home. Many European teams are very very close and that's what leads to different results (like Poland topping their group in the Euro 2008 qualifications).
Dax, Netherlands didn't play at full potential with Estonia...to be serious, they were already qualified. Estonia is a poor team...i saw them against Romania. When you call Serbia and you lose against Estonia is a problem.
Huh? Nope, they were not qualified and infact there are RVP, Robben, Strootman and other quality players on the pitch. Besides, you don't get the point. I'm not saying that Estonia is a strong team, I just said that they can pull off upsets. Jordan is also a "poor team" comparable to Estonia yet they beat us, also thanks to Endo failing a penalty. But it happens. It's football, and Serbia is much better. It's made of circumstances and cycles. What would've happened if Serbia was in Montenegro's group? Are they much better than Serbia and that's why they're still in contention? A look at their lineup would make you think. You have to rate a team for the football the play. Can Serbia beat us at home? Yeah, definitely. Is Serbia usually a strong, consistent team in competitions? No.