Serbia have established themselves as a solid World Cup force since 2010, with Qatar 2022 representing their third appearance from the last four tournaments.
Dragan Stojkovic also becomes the third manager to lead them at a World Cup as their reputation for sacking coaches shows little sign of slowing down.
Serbia impressed during qualification, finishing top of Group A ahead of Portugal. However, they face a battle to make it out of Group G at the tournament, with seasoned campaigners Switzerland and Cameroon aiming to challenge for a last-16 spot, in behind Brazil.
MORE: World Cup Group G: Serbia, Brazil, Cameroon and Switzerland in profile
Final Serbia World Cup squad 2022
Stojkovic has delayed the announcement of his squad to ensure key players were given enough time to recover from injuries.
OFFICIAL!
Serbia’s 26 man squad for the World Cup.
🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸 pic.twitter.com/ZsVRCcR0fK
— Serbian Football (@SerbianFooty) November 11, 2022
Lazio’s midfielder maestro Sergej Milinkovic-Savic was the key doubt for Stojkovic but the 27-year-old makes the final cut ahead of their curtain raiser in Qatar, against Brazil on November 24.
| Position | Player | Club | Age | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Marko Dmitrovic | Sevilla (SPA) | 30 | 19 |
| Goalkeeper | Vanja Milinkovic-Savic | Torino (ITA) | 25 | 6 |
| Goalkeeper | Predrag Rajkovic | Mallorca (SPA) | 27 | 28 |
| Defender | Stefan Mitrovic | Getafe (SPA) | 32 | 34 |
| Defender | Strahinja Pavlovic | RB Salzburg (AUS) | 21 | 21 |
| Defender | Milos Veljkovic | Werder Bremen (GER) | 27 | 21 |
| Defender | Filip Mladenovic | Legia Warsaw (POL) | 31 | 19 |
| Defender | Strahinja Erakovic | Red Star Belgrade (SER) | 21 | 1 |
| Defender | Srdan Babic | Almeria (SPA) | 26 | 2 |
| Defender | Nikola Milenkovic | Fiorentina (ITA) | 25 | 37 |
| Midfielder | Dusan Tadic – | Ajax (NED) | 33 | 90 |
| Midfielder | Filip Kostic – | Juventus (ITA) | 29 | 50 |
| Midfielder | Nemanja Maksimovic – | Getafe (SPA | 27 | 39 |
| Midfielder | Filip Duricic – | Sampdoria (ITA) | 30 | 36 |
| Midfielder | Sasa Lukic – | Torino (ENG) | 26 | 32 |
| Midfielder | Andrija Zivkovic – | PAOK (GRE) | 26 | 28 |
| Midfielder | Darko Lazovic – | Verona (ITA) | 32 | 25 |
| Midfielder | Sergej Milinkovic-Savic – | Lazio (ITA) | 27 | 35 |
| Midfielder | Nemandja Gudelj – | Sevilla (SPA) | 30 | 48 |
| Midfielder | Marko Grujic – | Porto (POR) | 26 | 17 |
| Midfielder | Uros Racic – | Braga (POR) | 24 | 9 |
| Midfielder | Ivan Ilic | Verona (ITA) | 21 | 5 |
| Forward | Aleksandar Mitrovic – | Fulham (ENG) | 28 | 76 |
| Forward | Luka Jovic – | Fiorentina (ITA) | 24 | 28 |
| Forward | Dusan Vlahovic – | Juventus (ITA) | 22 | 16 |
| Forward | Nemanja Radonjic – | Marseille (FRA) | 26 | 36 |
WORLD CUP 2022 SELECTED SQUADS:
Australia | Argentina | Belgium | Brazil | Cameroon
Canada | Costa Rica | Croatia | Denmark | England
France | Germany | Ghana | Iran | Japan | Mexico
Netherlands | Poland | Portugal | Qatar | Senegal
Serbia | Spain | Switzerland | Uruguay | USA | Wales
Serbia best player, strengths & weaknesses
All eyes will be on Aleksandar Mitrovic to spearhead Serbia’s World Cup challenge, with the experienced striker one of the highest international goal scorers on display in Qatar.
The Fulham star will be key for Serbia, as his goals have often decided their fate, but Stojkovic is well stocked in midfield, with Nemanja Gudelj and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic forming a strong pairing.
Stars
Mitrovic will gather the bulk of the attention in Qatar but his attacking partners represent an ever brighter future than him.
Luka Jovic is starting to resurrect his career in Serie A, following a nightmare at Real Madrid, with Juventus star Dusan Vlahovic one of the most potent strikers in Italian football right now.
Weaknesses
There will be a lot of pressure on Milinkovic-Savic to lead Serbia’s midfield, but the Lazio star has struggled to transfer his club form into the international sphere previously, and there is a notable lack of mobility in behind him.
Serbia World Cup group
Brazil look well placed to ease out of Group G, and on into the knockout stages, leaving a likely three-way battle for the other last-16 place.
There is little to separate Serbia, Switzerland and Cameroon, based on experience, but they will all be confident of having an edge.
Serbia Group G fixtures and match schedule
| Date | Match | Time (ET) | Stadium |
| Thurs, Nov. 24 | Brazil vs. Serbia | 2 p.m. | Lusail Stadium |
| Mon, Nov. 28 | Cameroon vs. Serbia | 5 a.m. | Al Janoub Stadium |
| Fri, Dec. 2 | Serbia vs. Switzerland | 2 p.m. | Stadium 974 |
Can Serbia replace players on World Cup roster?
Once the final 26-man roster is official, participating teams at the World Cup can only make changes before the first game of the tournament, and only in the case of extraordinary circumstances.
According to the official tournament rules, “a player listed on the final list may only be replaced in the event of serious injury or illness up until 24 hours before the start of his team’s first match.”
The team in question would need to submit a medical report to FIFA and if the world governing body determines “the injury or illness is sufficiently serious to prevent the player from taking part in the FIFA World Cup” then the replacement will be allowed.
The replacement player must come from the preliminary list of players submitted to FIFA in October.
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