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Serbia World Cup 2018 squad and team guide

There are many familiar faces in the Serbia World Cup squad - AFP
There are many familiar faces in the Serbia World Cup squad - AFP

Here we take a look at Serbia's World Cup squad and the other things it will be handy to know about the Group E challengers.

Serbia's World Cup squad - the 23 names

Goalkeepers: Vladimir Stojkovic (Partizan Belgrade), Predrag Rajkovic (Maccabi Tel Aviv), Marko Dmitrovic (Eibar).

Defenders: Aleksandar Kolarov (AS Roma), Branislav Ivanovic (Zenit St. Petersburg), Dusko Tosic (Guangzhou R&F), Antonio Rukavina (Villarreal), Milos Veljkovic (Werder Bremen), Milan Rodic (Red Star Belgrade), Uros Spajic (Krasnodar), Nikola Milenkovic (Fiorentina).

Midfielders: Nemanja Matic (Manchester United), Luka Milivojevic (Crystal Palace), Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Lazio), Marko Grujic (Liverpool), Adem Ljajic (Torino), Dusan Tadic (Southampton), Filip Kostic (Hamburg SV), Andrija Zivkovic (Benfica), Nemanja Radonjic (Red Star Belgrade).

Strikers: Aleksandar Mitrovic (Newcastle United), Aleksandar Prijovic (PAOK Salonika), Luka Jovic (Benfica).

Serbia's World Cup 2018 fixtures

  • Costa Rica: Sunday, June 17 at 1pm

  • Switzerland: Friday, June 22 at 7pm

  • Brazil: Wednesday, June 27 at 7pm

Serbia's World Cup record

World Cup record: Serbia

What odds are Serbia to win the World Cup?

150/1

The kits

See where Serbia's shirts ends up in our ranking of all 64 World Cup shirts below:

World Cup kits ranked

Who's the coach?

Mladen Krstajić was a quality defender but is inexperienced as a manager, this being his first posting. Took over from Slavoljub Muslin post-qualification.

Who's the star?

Potentially, Manchester United transfer target Sergej Milinković-Savić, who has been compared to Paul Pogba. He’s a tricky attacking midfielder built like a rugby second row.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic: Manchester United target and one to watch - Credit: Getty Images
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic: Manchester United target and one to watch Credit: Getty Images

Best thing about them

Classy, experienced, no-nonsense professionals like skipper Aleksandar Kolarov,  Branislav Ivanović, and Nemanja Matić know how to win games at the top level.

World Cup 2018 | Fixtures, groups, squads and more

Worst thing about them

Difficult to know what to expect, given that the coach is so new. They might gel, they might fall apart.

You may recognise…

Aleksandar Mitrovic, who has been banging them in for Fulham, where he is on loan from Newcastle United. Expected to play up front.

Cameramen will be picking out…

Muslin, if possible. The former coach was unceremoniously, acrimoniously sacked despite topping qualifying amid rumours he did not want to play Milinković-Savić.

Fans' favourite chant

“србија србија”.

Translation: “Serbia, Serbia.” A route one option.

On-field prediction

Brazil aside, tough to pick between them, Switzerland and Costa Rica. Group stage exit, perhaps.

Off-field prediction

 Macho.

Full 2018 World Cup squad lists and guides | Star to watch, odds, fans' chants and more

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