Here is the Serbia squad that's been named to face Finland on September 8th in Belgrade, and Portugal four days later in Lisbon. Serbia squad Goalkeepers: Vladimir Stojković (Sporting Clube de Portugal), Vlada Avramov (ACF Fiorentina). Defenders: Antonio Rukavina (FK Partizan), Mladen Krstajić (FC Schalke 04), Ivica Dragutinović (Sevilla FC), Duško Tošić (Werder Bremen), Nemanja Vidić (Manchester United FC), Milan Stepanov (FC Porto), Branislav Ivanović (FC Lokomotiv Moskva). Midfielders: Dejan Stanković (FC Internazionale Milano), Nenad Kovačević (RC Lens), Igor Duljaj (FC Shakhtar Donetsk), Milan Smiljanić (RCD Espanyol), Boško Janković (US Città di Palermo), Zdravko Kuzmanović (ACF Fiorentina), Miloš Krasić (PFC CSKA Moskva), Zoran Tošić (FK Partizan). Forwards: Marko Pantelić (Hertha BSC), Nikola Žigić (Valencia CF), Danko Lazović (PSV Eindhoven), Milan Jovanović (R. Standard de Liege). Notes: There are a couple of changes in the squad for the upcoming matches. The major one is the inclusion of our captain Dejan Stankovic, after he served his suspension of one game. The other surprise inclusion is Zoran Tosic of Partizan Belgrade. The young player had a great U21 tournament in Holland this summer and moved from Bezanija to Partizan. He becomes the sixth player of the U21's to get called up. Branislav Ivanovic, the captain of the U21 national team also gets the call up after Clemente deems it necessary to reinforce the defense. In my true opinion this is the ideal Serbian team with the possibilty of including Dusan Basta instead of Igor Dugalj. I really can't see what the coaches see in him but he must follow their orders on the park. This is a big chance for Zoran Tosic, and he was one of the best Serbian players at the U21 championship. It's quite ironic that he got his chance through Milos Krasic's injury in the first game versus Italy. It will be interesting to see who Clemente picks for midfield. I think we will see a midfield of Dejan Stankovic, Nenad Kovacevic, Zdravko Kuzmanovic, and Bosko Jankovic. I doubt Kuzmanovic will be dropped after his two goals versus Belgium in Brussels on his debut. If he is indeed dropped, the reason will most likely be the lack of width on the pitch. Expect either Milos Krasic or Zoran Tosic to get their opportunity. Up front I see Nikola Zigic starting because goals are badly needed, and if he is still injured a possible 4-5-1 might be explored with Pantelic up front and Dejan Stankovic playing as a support striker. In the defensive end I expect to see the standard back line of Rukavina, Vidic, Krstajic, and Dragutinovic. However, after a dismal performance versus Belgium, conceding three goals Clemente might shake things up. He has brought Bratislav Ivanovic, Dusko Tosic, and Milan Stepanov along for the two games therefore he could put the U21's to see how they do. Need I bear reminding people that whenever the back line of Rukavina, Ivanovic, Stepanov, and Tosic started we never conceded a goal? Therefore it will be interesting. Recent news also have it that Javier Clemente has been involved in a serious health incident, so that will even shake things up further. I really don't know who will select the starting 11. Hopefully everything will be fine in time for the two qualifiers. In conclusion, I think these two matches will decide who moves on to Euro 2008. Serbia need at least 4 points to progress, and anything less will surely spell an end to our chances of progressing. Who knows, football is football and anything can happen, but we seriously need to perform well here to have any chance going into the final stretch.
Serbia 0-0 Finland FT. Serbia were frustrated by a stingy Finnish defense. The Starting 11 were: GK Vladimir Stojkovic DR Antonio Rukavina DL Ivica Dragutinovic DC Dusko Tosic DC Bratislav Ivanovic MR Zdravko Kuzmanovic ML Milos Krasic DMC Nenad Kovacevic AMC Dejan Stankovic WR/L Bosko Jankovic S Danko Lazovic We troubled Finland in the opening 45 minutes but we just couldn't score. Nikola Zigic was introduced in the second half and he couldn't do anything either. One positive sign was the shut out that I predicted our defense would have. We face Portugal in 4 days time in Lisbon. They tied Poland 2-2 at home. This upcoming game will be the decider in my eyes to who gets second place. Standings: 1. Poland 10 games played, 20 points 2. Finalnd 10 games played, 18 points 3. Portugal 9 games played, 16 points 4. Serbia 9 games played, 15 points As you can plainly see it will come down to these four teams. It will be interesting however as Poland still have to face Finland and Serbia both away.
1-1 FT Serbia-Portugal. Once again a stalemate. The conclusion remains; Serbia win the rest of their games, they finish second and go to Euro 2008 by a point if they beat Poland on the last day. Current standings: Games played, points. 1. Poland, 11, 21 2. Finland, 11, 19 3. Portugal 10, 17 4. Serbia 10, 16.
He plays both.. but in my opinion he plays more often as outside midfielder and is better in that position. For Mallorca he played as a left midfielder. I really haven't seen him at Palermo since the start of the season, therefore I can't comment where he is playing currently for club. As for country he has always played on the left.
I watched several Serbian UEFA U-21 games and was very impressed with him. Is he the best young Serbian talent or are some of the other players on that team, such as Tosic, better prospects? Even if you don't manage to qualify for Euro 08, the outlook for World Cup 2010 has to be positive considering how many of the best Serbian players are relatively young.
Yes the U21 tournament was pretty good to us albeit the final. Bosko Jankovic is one of our finest talents currently as well as for the future. He is in his early 20's so he has time to come into his own. I think he will be excellent for us in the future. I think there are several points to highlight. I have said on this board that I did not expect us to qualify for Euro 2008. I would like to see it of course, but our main objective is the 2010 World Cup. Overall we have a very good young team on the rise: Goalkeeper: Vladimir Stojkovic is already the senior national team goalkeeper and plays for Sporting Lisbon. Also Damir Kahriman, the goalkeeper of the U21 side who impressed in Holland this summer. Those two are our two number one's. In defense we have Antonio Rukavina and Dusan Basta on the right hand side. Both are excellent fullbacks. In the center Nemanja Vidic is our "veteran," yet I think he is only 25. We also then have Bratislav Ivanovic of Lokomotiv Moscow who was the captain of the U21's and started and scored versus Portugal. We also have Dusko Tosic who joined Werder Bremen from Sochaux after an excellent U21 tournament. Marko Basa of Le Mans is another excellent defender. He is their captain and they are currently having their best start to the season in the club's history. There are also two more in, Milan Stepanov of the U21's. He joined FC Porto this summer, as well as Aleksandar Kolarov, the left back who joined S.S. Lazio. He was the one who snuck in a couple of free kicks from the right hand side with his left foot. Overall in defense I would say we are looking excellent. Also look for Slobodan Rajkovic of PSV Eidnhoven, who is co-owned by Chelsea FC. He is only 18 years old, and was on the U21 team which played this summer. In midfield we have some prospects coming through as well. One is Zdravko Kuzmanovic who didn't feature for the U21's but is a part of the senior set up. He plays for ACF Fiorentina. He has been having an excellent start to the season. Then there is Milos Krasic of CSKA Moscow on the left hand side. You already mentioned Bosko Jankovic of Palermo as well as Zoran Tosic of Partizan Belgrade. He in my opinion is the kid to watch out for. He came out of nowhere this season in the U21 tournament. Lastly Milan Smiljanic of RCD Espanyol, formerly of Partizan Belgrade is our defensive midfielder. I think he will eventually replace Nenad Kovacevic once he moves on from international football. Stefan Babovic of OFK Belgrade is also another midfielder to keep your eye on. He started around half of the games at the U21's. He is great at finding the killer pass. Lastly Dejan Milovanovic, the captain of Red Star Belgrade is the player to have if you want to kill of the game. There were rumors of both Babovic and Milovanovic moving to foreign teams but they didn't bear fruit. They will probably move next season. Our only area of concern is our lack of producing excellent forwards. We have a couple who are in their mid twenties who should hit their peak in 2010. Those forwards are Nikola Zigic of Valencia (26), Danko Lazovic of PSV Eidnhoven (24), and Milan Jovanovic of Standard de Liege (26). Therefore we should have an excellent mix of youth and leadership at the next World Cup. I really wish we can make it to Euro 2008 to gain some experience. I still really feel that Serbia can make it. If we win our game in hand we will be only 2 points behind Poland, and we play them on the last day. If, and that's a big if, we can win the rest of our games we will go on to the competition. I don't think that's too far out of our reach. It would be excellent for us to beat Poland on the last day to reach the European final 16. Poland can also drop points as all three of their remaining games are versus tough teams; Finland, Belgium, and us. It will be interesting for sure. Currently this would be my starting 11: GK Vladimir Stojkovic, Sporting Lisbon DR Antonio Rukavina, Partizan Belgrade DL Ivica Dragutniovic, Sevilla FC DC Bratislav Ivanovic, Lokomotiv Moscow DC Nemanja Vidic, Manchester United MC Zdravko Kuzmanovic, ACF Fiorentina ML Bosko Jankovic, Palermo FC MC Dejan Stankovic, Inter Milan MR Milos Krasic, CSKA Moscow FC Marko Pantelic, Hertha Berlin S Nikola Zigic, Valencia CF This is definitely attacking minded. Clemente always has Nenad Kovacevic acting as a defensive midfielder from RCD Lens however. We'll see what happens..