The history of the Serbia national football team began in 1920, when Serbia played its first international match.
The first national team was in the kingdom that existed between the two world wars. The Football Federation of what was then the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was founded in Zagreb in 1919 under the name Jugoslovenski nogometni savez (and admitted into FIFA), and the national team played its first international game at the Summer Olympics in Antwerp in 1920. The opponent was Czechoslovakia, and the historic starting eleven that represented Kingdom of SCS on its debut were: Dragutin VrÃÂuka, Vjekoslav à ½upanÃÂiÃÂ, Jaroslav à  ifer, Stanko TavÃÂar, Slavin CindriÃÂ, Rudolf Rupec, Dragutin Vrag and Jovan Ruà ¾iÃÂ. They lost by a large margin, 0âÂÂ7, but nonetheless entered their names in the history books.
In 1929, the country was renamed to Yugoslavia and the football association became Fudbalski Savez Jugoslavije and moved its headquarters to Belgrade. The national team participated at the 1930 FIFA World Cup, finishing in fourth place. In its first ever World Cup match in Montevideo's Parque Central, Yugoslavia managed a famous 2âÂÂ1 win versus mighty Brazil, with the following starting eleven representing the country: Milovan Jakà ¡iÃÂ, Branislav SekuliÃÂ, Aleksandar TirnaniÃÂ, Milutin IvkoviÃÂ, Ivica Bek, MomÃÂilo ÃÂokiÃÂ, Blagoje MarjanoviÃÂ, Milorad ArsenijeviÃÂ, ÃÂorÃÂe VujadinoviÃÂ, Dragoslav MihajloviÃÂ, and Ljubià ¡a StefanoviÃÂ. The national team consisted of players based in Serbian football clubs, while the Zagreb Subassociation forbid players from Croatian clubs to play in the World Cup due to the relocation of the football association's headquarters from Zagreb to Belgrade.
The federation and football overall was disrupted by World War II. After the war, a socialist federation was formed and the football federation reconstituted.
Yugoslavia begin their football campaign by defeating Luxembourg 6âÂÂ1, with five different players scoring the goals. In the quarter-finals and the semi-finals, they would take out Turkey and Great Britain by the same score of 3âÂÂ1. In the final though, they would lose to Sweden.
Having a team with many players from the 1948 generation, Yugoslavia was a formidable side at the 1952 Summer Olympics and finished as runners-up behind the legendary Hungary national team. Against the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia was 5âÂÂ1 up with 15 minutes of their first round match to go. The Yugoslavs, understandably, put their feet up. Arthur Ellis, the match referee, recorded what happened next in his book, The Final Whistle (London, 1963): "The USSR forced the most honourable draw ever recorded! [Vsevolod] Bobrov, their captain, scored a magnificent hat-trick. After the Soviet Union had reduced the lead to 5âÂÂ2, he, almost single-handed, took the score to 5âÂÂ5, scoring his third in the last minute. For once, use of the word sensational was justified." Although Bobrov's early goal in their replay presaged a miraculous recovery, Yugoslavia recovered sufficiently to put out their opponents easily in the second half.
Yugoslavia organized the 1976 European Championship played in Belgrade and Zagreb. The national team participated in eight World Cups and four Euros, and won the Olympic football tournament in 1960 at the Summer Games (they also finished second three times and third once).
With the end of the Cold War, democratic principles were introduced to the country which brought about the end of Titoist rule. In the subsequent atmosphere, national tensions were heightened. At the Yugoslavia-Netherlands friendly in preparation for the 1990 World Cup, the Croatian crowd in Zagreb jeered the Yugoslav team and anthem and waved Dutch flags (owing to its resemblance to the Croatian tricolour). With the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the team split up and the remaining team of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) was banned from competing at Euro 92. The decision was made on 31 May 1992, just ten days before the competition commenced.
They had finished top of their qualifying group, but were unable to play in the competition due to United Nations Security Council Resolution 757. Their place was taken by Denmark, who went on to win the competition. Yugoslavia had also been drawn as the top seed in Group 5 of the European Zone in the qualifying tournament for the 1994 World Cup. FRY was barred from competing, rendering the group unusually weak.
Although the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, consisting of Serbia and Montenegro, was formed on 27 April 1992, its teams were banned from all international sporting events, including the national football team. Consequently, the national team did not play its first game as a new country before 23 December 1994, a friendly match played in Porto Alegre and in which Brazil won by the mark of 2âÂÂ0. This was the first ever team composed of Serbian and Montenegrin players exclusively, while Slobodan SantraÃÂ, a former Yugoslavia national team player, was named the team's first ever manager. The next game was played only three days later, this time in Buenos Aires, resulting in 1âÂÂ0 loss to Argentina. Despite two losses in two games, the team was honoured to play its first two games ever against such football powerhouses.
Also due to the United Nations international sanctions, the team could not participate in 1994 World Cup qualifying nor the Euro 1996 qualifying process.
On 31 March 1995, the team recorded its first official win in history, a 1âÂÂ0 friendly against Uruguay, simultaneously marking the team's first ever home game, played at Stadion Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade, and the first ever goal scored, courtesy of Savo Miloà ¡eviÃÂ. Slightly more than one year later, the team recorded its first ever win in a World Cup qualifying tournament in its first game in such a tournament, a 3âÂÂ1 win over the Faroe Islands. Shortly after, the team also recorded its biggest win in history, once again against the Faroe Islands, 8âÂÂ1. Yugoslavia finished second in Group 6, just behind Spain, meaning it had to go through the play-off system in order to qualify. Yugoslavia was paired up with Hungary, and what was believed would be a tough matchup turned out to be an easy win for Yugoslavia, 7âÂÂ1 in Budapest and 5âÂÂ0 in Belgrade, for an aggregate score of 12âÂÂ1. This was enough to secure Yugoslavia its first ever World Cup appearance as a new country.
The 1998 World Cup seeding had Yugoslavia ranked in 21st position, but the Yugoslavia national team went to France as one of the shadow favorites for the World Cup. The New York Times stated that Yugoslavia could easily be a semi-finalist in that year's World Cup. The justification for such an estimation was partially found in the names of the Yugoslav players, members of great European teams and proven footballers. The draw put the team in Group F alongside Germany, the United States, and Iran. Yugoslavia won its first game 1âÂÂ0 against Iran thanks to a goal from defender Sinià ¡a MihajloviÃÂ. The next game was a draw for Yugoslavia. After leading Germany 2âÂÂ0, last game's hero, MihajloviÃÂ, scored an unlucky own goal following a German freekick, and Oliver Bierhoff equalised at 2âÂÂ2 with only about ten minutes to the match. Nonetheless, Yugoslavia responded in the next game against the United States and won 1âÂÂ0 due to an early goal in Nantes. Yugoslavia made easy work of Group 6, but despite an excellent record, the game against Germany would prove costly as Germany won the group thanks to a better goal difference.
Due to their second position, Yugoslavia saw itself face the Netherlands in the Round of 16. Yugoslavia entered in the match with a sole attacker, but its defensive tactics proved unsuccessful as Dennis Bergkamp put the Netherlands in front in the 38th minute. Immediately following the start of the second half, Yugoslavia pressured the Dutch, who inevitably conceded a header from Slobodan KomljenoviÃÂ. However, the turning point of this match was a penalty awarded to Yugoslavia after Vladimir Jugoviàwas fouled in the penalty area. Predrag MijatoviÃÂ's shot dazzled Edwin van der Sar, but not the crossbar, and the scoreline remained the same at 1âÂÂ1. Such an event demoralized the Yugoslavs, as the Dutch took the initiative. In the late seconds of the game, as everybody was preparing for extra time, Edgar Davids' shot towards the Yugoslav net from a distance of 20 meters and beat goalkeeper Ivica Kralj, to the pure disbelief of the Yugoslav players and fans. This marked the end of Yugoslavia's run in the 1998 World Cup, since there was not much time left to do anything.
Unlucky events forced Yugoslavia out of the tournament, but the team definitely demonstrated its great ability and proved it had a spot among the world's best teams. This was also reflected in the FIFA World Rankings following the 1998 FIFA World Cup, in which Yugoslavia was constantly ranked in the Top 10 for a long period of time.
The draw for the Euro 2000 qualifiers saw many eyebrows raised as first-seeded Yugoslavia was drawn in a group with Croatia, thus marking the first games between the two teams after the breakup of Yugoslavia. The other teams in the group were the Republic of Ireland, Macedonia, and Malta. When the qualifiers began, the coach was Milan à ½ivadinoviÃÂ, but in July 1999 he resigned and was replaced by Vujadin Boà ¡kov.
The team started with a 1âÂÂ0 win over Ireland in Belgrade, before beating Malta 3âÂÂ0 in Ta' Qali. The home fixture against the Maltese followed, but was moved to Thessaloniki, Greece due to the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. The team nonetheless won 4âÂÂ1. The first, highly anticipated match against Croatia took place in Belgrade shortly after the bombing ended, and was interrupted due to a power outage at the beginning of the second half, resuming after 43 minutes and eventually finishing 0âÂÂ0. A 2âÂÂ1 defeat against Ireland in Dublin was followed by victories home and away against Macedonia (3âÂÂ1 and 4âÂÂ2 respectively), meaning that Yugoslavia needed to win its final qualifier against Croatia in Zagreb, or to draw with Ireland failing to beat Macedonia in Skopje, in order to qualify automatically for Euro 2000. In the event, Ireland conceded an injury-time equaliser, meaning that Yugoslavia's 2âÂÂ2 draw with the Croatians was good enough.
The draw for the finals placed Yugoslavia in Group C along with Spain, Norway and another former Yugoslav republic, Slovenia. The Slovenians took a surprise 3âÂÂ0 lead in the first game at the Stade du Pays de Charleroi, but three goals in six second-half minutes enabled Yugoslavia to secure a 3âÂÂ3 draw. The team then beat Norway 1âÂÂ0 in Liège, thanks to an early Savo Miloà ¡eviàbackheel strike. The final group game, against Spain in Bruges, saw the Yugoslavs take the lead three times, before a Gaizka Mendieta penalty and an Alfonso strike in injury-time secured a dramatic 4âÂÂ3 win for the Spaniards and top spot in the group. Yugoslavia nonetheless finished second, level on points with Norway but ranked ahead due to its victory in Liège. In each of the three games, the team had one player sent off (Sinià ¡a MihajloviÃÂ, Mateja Keà ¾man, and Slavià ¡a JokanoviÃÂ, respectively).
In the quarter-finals, Yugoslavia was once again paired with the Netherlands. Unlike the last time, the co-hosts made easy work of Yugoslavia, winning 6âÂÂ1 in Rotterdam with Patrick Kluivert scoring a hat-trick.
One of the few bright spots of Yugoslav team in the whole tournament was Savo Miloà ¡eviÃÂ, who was crowned the joint top scorer of the tournament, alongside Patrick Kluivert. Both players scored five goals, although Miloà ¡eviàplayed one game fewer.
The 2002 qualifiers marked the first time that Yugoslavia failed to reach a major tournament ever since its return to the big stage after the UN sanctions. The problems started with the major political turmoil in the country as well in the Yugoslav FA, which prompted the new coach Ilija Petkoviàto resign only after one game (2âÂÂ0 away victory against Luxembourg).
Milovan ÃÂoriàtook over the team, but under his leadership, the team managed only two draws (1âÂÂ1 at home vs. Switzerland and also 1âÂÂ1 away in Slovenia, in both games the opponents managed to equalise in late stages of the game) and a 0âÂÂ1 home loss to Russia (which marked the team's first home defeat in official matches). After ÃÂoriÃÂ's resignation, a three-man commission, consisting of Dejan SaviÃÂeviÃÂ, Vujadin Boà ¡kov, and Ivan ÃÂurkoviÃÂ, took over the coaching duties, until SaviÃÂeviàultimately took over on his own. The team managed to bounce back with a draw in Russia and a win in Switzerland, but failed to defeat Slovenia in the penultimate game, thus ended the qualifiers in third position.
After SaviÃÂeviÃÂ's disastrous spell as coach of Yugoslavia, the country went under a political transformation, and Ilija Petkoviàbecame the newly named Serbia and Montenegro's new coach. Initially, the team under his lead experienced dragging failure in the Euro 2004 qualifiers while competing for the first time as Serbia and Montenegro. Despite drawing both games against group favorites and eventual group winners Italy and winning both games against runners-up Wales, Serbia and Montenegro failed to qualify, mostly due to an embarrassing 2âÂÂ2 home draw and 2âÂÂ1 away loss to Azerbaijan.
Qualifying for the 2006 World Cup, however, was different. Serbia and Montenegro began the campaign by finishing first with an undefeated record in their qualification group ahead of favourites Spain. The Serbia and Montenegro team also allowed only one goal in the ten matches, the best defensive record of all 51 teams participating in qualification.
For the 2006 qualifiers, Serbia and Montenegro was drawn in a group with Spain, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lithuania and San Marino. Led once again by Ilija Petkoviàas coach, Serbia and Montenegro played some impressive defensive footballâÂÂthe "Famous Four" defense, consisting of Nemanja VidiÃÂ, Mladen KrstajiÃÂ, Goran GavranÃÂiÃÂ, and Ivica DragutinoviÃÂ, with Dragoslav Jevriàas goalkeeper, conceded only one goal in ten games, finishing first with a 6âÂÂ4âÂÂ0 record, ahead of Spain.
On 3 June 2006, following a referendum, Montenegro declared its independence from Serbia. As the World Cup was about to start, it was decided that the Serbia and Montenegro team that had qualified for the tournament would compete, with the split into separate teams representing the new countries of Montenegro and Serbia to take place once the team was no longer in the tournament.
In the group stage, Serbia and Montenegro lost their opening game to joint group favourite, the Netherlands. The final score was 1âÂÂ0 after Arjen Robben scored the only goal of the game. They also lost their second game to Argentina 6âÂÂ0, Serbia and Montenegro's worst ever international result. With the team's two losses and with Netherlands and Argentina winning both their games, Serbia and Montenegro could no longer qualify for the knockout matches, and was playing for pride alone in their final group game against Ivory Coast. Despite having a 2âÂÂ0 lead for much of the first half, the Elephants managed to come back and win 3âÂÂ2, leaving Serbia and Montenegro with a disappointing 0âÂÂ0âÂÂ3 World Cup run.
After Montenegro declared independence, Serbia marked independence with a 3âÂÂ1 away victory over the Czech Republic. Danko LazoviÃÂ's, Marko PanteliÃÂ's and Aleksandar Trià ¡oviÃÂ's goals led Serbia to victory on this match.
The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying campaign began with a 1âÂÂ0 victory over Azerbaijan by Nikola à ½igiÃÂ's goal in the 72nd minute on 6 September 2006. Four days later, Serbia drew with Poland 1âÂÂ1. Serbia made a two victories in October: 1âÂÂ0 over Belgium and 3âÂÂ0 over Armenia. In 6 matches, Serbia stayed undefeated in 2006 (4 victories, 2 draws). In the first qualifying match in 2007, Serbia unexpectedly lost 1âÂÂ2 from Kazakhstan in Almaty, and four days later (28 March 2007) made a draw in front of 52,000 fans at Rajko MitiàStadium against Portugal. On 2 June 2007, Serbia made a 2âÂÂ0 victory over Finland in Helsinki. In August, he lost from Belgium 2âÂÂ3 away, Zdravko Kuzmanoviàscored (his first) two goals. After a three draws, Serbia demolished Azerbaijan with 6âÂÂ1 in Baku. On 21 November 2007, Serbia draw 2âÂÂ2 at home with Poland in the front of 3,000 fans. Three days later, with a low attendance (less than 1,000) at Partizan Stadium, Serbia defeated Kazakhstan by own goal in the 79th minute in the last match of this qualifying cycle. Serbia finished third, three points behind runners-up Portugal and Group A winners Poland. Serbia's first ever foreign coach Javier Clemente was sacked after the failure.
Serbia replaced Clemente with Miroslav ÃÂukiÃÂ, but he left the position on 19 August of the following year without having played any official games. Subsequent to ÃÂukiÃÂ's rapid departure, who led Serbia on five friendly matches and made three defeats and two draws, Radomir Antiàwas appointed coach. Serbia's World Cup qualification campaign began on 6 September 2008. Serbia defeated Faroe Islands, by own goal in 30th minute and Nikola à ½igiÃÂ's goal in 88th minute. Four days later, Serbia lost from 2006 FIFA World Cup runners-up France 1âÂÂ2 on Stade de France. A month later, Serbia defeated Lithuania 3âÂÂ0 with the goals scored by Branislav IvanoviàMiloà ¡ Krasiàand Nikola à ½igiÃÂ. On 15 October 2008, Serbia broken Austria 3âÂÂ1 in Vienna in the front of 48,000 fans. KrasiÃÂ, Milan Jovanoviàand Ivan Obradoviàscored goals for 9 minutes (15th, 18th and 24th). By the end of the year, Serbia played one match in November and one in December. First, in November, Serbia demolish Bulgaria 6âÂÂ1 in Belgrade. Savo Miloà ¡eviÃÂ, the second top goalscorer of all time in Serbia national team, scored twice and missed two penalties in his last match for national team. Serbia lost against Poland in Antalya, in December 0âÂÂ1. In first match in 2009, Serbia made a huge victory over Romania in Constanà £a. Romania not defeated in Constanà £a seven years, before this match. On 6 June 2009, Serbia defeated Austria 1âÂÂ0 in the front of 52,000 fans at Rajko MitiàStadium. Nenad Milijaà ¡ scored the only goal, in 7th minute, from penalty spot. Four days later, Serbia made an expected victory (2âÂÂ0) over Faroe Islands in Tórshavn. On 9 September 2009, Serbia draw 1âÂÂ1 with world runners-up, France in the front of almost 50,000 fans. Nenad Milijaà ¡ scored the only goal for Eagles, in 12th minute, from penalty spot, like against Austria three monts before. On 10 October 2009, Serbia made a huge victory 5âÂÂ0 against Romania and secured placement at 2010 FIFA World Cup. In last match of this qualifying cycle, Lithuania defeated Serbia 2âÂÂ1 in MarijampolÃÂ. In November, Serbia defeat Northern Ireland and South Korea in Belfast and London, 1âÂÂ0 both matches.
Serbia placed into Group D with Germany, team also faced 2010 Africa Cup of Nations runners-up Ghana, and Australia.
Their opening group game was against Ghana and chances came to both sides but a red card to Aleksandar Lukoviàand a handball by substitute Zdravko Kuzmanoviàin the second half gave Ghana a penalty to take all three points at the death. Asamoah Gyan converted eight minutes from full-time and Serbia were defeated 1âÂÂ0. In Serbia's second group match, they sensationally defeated Germany by a score of 1âÂÂ0 with an acrobatic goal by Milan Jovanoviàlate in the first half. FIFA's official YouTube channel called the win "the most famous day in Serbia's footballing history". Serbia only needed a single point to reach the knockout stages but were defeated by Australia 2âÂÂ1 in an entertaining match where Serbia's dominance in the first half and in periods of the second half would have made it look like a Serbia victory. Australia scored 2 goals in the second half through Tim Cahill and Brett Holman. A late Marko Panteliàgoal served only as a consolation. They finished last in the group.
After game against Australia and elimination from World Cup, Serbia start 2012 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying campaign. The qualifying stage began with Radomir Antiàas coach and finished with Vladimir PetroviÃÂ. Serbia and Antiàstarted the first two games positively with a 3âÂÂ0 win away to Faroe Islands and a 1âÂÂ1 draw at home to Slovenia but this result brought the end of AntiÃÂ's reign as the country's coach. New coach Petroviàfaced setbacks immediately with an embarrassing 3âÂÂ1 loss at home to Estonia and an abandoned match resulting in a 3âÂÂ0 loss to Italy due to crowd trouble from the Serbian away supporters in Genoa. Serbia returned to form with a 2âÂÂ1 win at home over Northern Ireland but could only manage a 1âÂÂ1 draw away to Estonia. Afterwards, Serbia won back to back games with a 1âÂÂ0 win away to Northern Ireland and a crucial 3âÂÂ1 win at home against Faroe Islands. These results put Serbia in pole position to confirm a play-off spot behind Italy. Serbia needed a win at home against Italy to confirm a play-off spot but their efforts only resulted in a 1âÂÂ1 draw. The team, however, still had one more chance to confirm a play-off place when they faced Slovenia away. This game was a must win even though Serbia had a superior goal difference over Estonia, a draw was not good enough for progression. Serbia played positively and created a number of chances during the game but a long-range goal put Slovenia up 1âÂÂ0 at half time. The Serbians then failed to convert numerous chances that they had in the second half, notably Nemanja VidiÃÂ's penalty miss midway through the second half. Serbia left empty handed after a 1âÂÂ0 loss and exited the tournament for the third time in a row during the qualifying group stages, missing out by one point behind Estonia. Vladimir Petroviàwas sacked after the team's failure to qualify.
Dejan Stankoviàand Nemanja Vidiàannounced that they were retiring from international football. This meant that Serbia had lost two key players and that a new era had started. Branislav Ivanoviàbecame the new captain. Sinià ¡a MihajloviÃÂ, a former member of the national team, was appointed as the coach on 24 April 2012. Serbia was drawn in Group A in qualification for 2014 FIFA World Cup, together with Croatia, Belgium, Scotland, Macedonia, and Wales. The team began the qualification campaign with a goalless draw with Scotland in Glasgow and a 6âÂÂ1 win over Wales in Novi Sad. In the next two games, Serbia suffered two defeats, from Macedonia in (0âÂÂ1) and Belgium in Belgrade (0âÂÂ3). In 2013, on 22 March, Serbia played in Zagreb against Croatia. The game was highly anticipated in both countries due to their rivalry both on and off the pitch. Croatia won 2âÂÂ0 and sent Serbia down on the table. Serbia then defeated Scotland 2âÂÂ0 at home in a crucial qualifier, though their World Cup hopes were taken away after a 2âÂÂ1 defeat to Belgium. Serbia drew with Croatia 1âÂÂ1 in the corresponding fixture at home in a spiteful affair, where 18-year-old Aleksandar Mitroviàscored an equalizer in the second-half after Mario Mandà ¾ukiàopened the scoring. They then defeated Wales 0âÂÂ3 in Cardiff. Dejan StankoviÃÂ's farewell game was completed in a friendly against Japan, which Serbia won 2âÂÂ0. He finished his career with 103 appearances for the national team, a record previously held by Savo Miloà ¡eviÃÂ, with 102 appearances. Serbia finished qualifying with a 5âÂÂ1 home win against Macedonia, putting them in third in the group, three points from a playoff spot behind Croatia and group winners Belgium.
Dutch Dick Advocaat was appointed as the coach in July 2014. Serbia was drawn in Group I in qualification for UEFA Euro 2016, together with Portugal, Denmark, Albania and Armenia. Advocaat started with a draw in a friendly 1âÂÂ1 game against France. The team began qualification with a 1âÂÂ1 draw against Armenia in Yerevan. In the next abandoned game against Albania in Belgrade, Serbia was originally awarded with a 3âÂÂ0 victory, but was later deducted three points. On 14 November 2014, Serbia played against Denmark in Belgrade and lost, 1âÂÂ3. After this game, Advocaat left, whereupon Radovan ÃÂurÃÂiàwas announced as a new coach on 18 November. In 2015, Serbia's first match was a qualifying match against Portugal in Lisbon, during which Serbia lost 2âÂÂ1, cutting their chances for qualification to Euro 2016. On 13 June 2015, Serbia played a qualifying match against Denmark in Copenhagen, losing 2âÂÂ0. On 10 July, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) announced that it had awarded a 0âÂÂ3 victory to Albania in the abandoned match held on 14 October 2014, upholding Serbia's three-point penalization. As a result, Serbia became mathematically eliminated from Euro 2016 qualification. On 4 September 2015, Serbia reached first victory in these qualifications, 2âÂÂ0 over Armenia. On 8 October, Serbia made a huge victory over rival Albania in Elbasan. Aleksandar Kolarov's and Adem LjajiÃÂ's goals in 91st and 94th minute led Serbia to the victory. In the table of Group I, Serbia finished second to last place with four points in a five team group.
In first match for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Serbia started off their campaign with a 2âÂÂ2 draw against Ireland at the Rajko Mitic Stadium. Republic of Ireland take the lead in 3rd minute. The Eagles equalized by Filip KostiÃÂ's goal in 62nd minute and seven minutes later take the lead after Duà ¡an Tadiàsuccessfully completed the penalty. Conceded goal in 80th minute has costed Serbia three points. One month later, Serbia made a first victory, over Moldova in ChiÃÂinÃÂu. Filip Kostiàscored first goal on the match again, this time in 19th minute. Captain Branislav Ivanoviàscored in 37th minute. Duà ¡an Tadiàscored in 59th minute and with one goal and two assists helped Serbia to beat Moldova 3âÂÂ0. Three days later, on 9 October 2016, Serbia defeated Austria (3âÂÂ2) at Rajko MitiàStadium and made very important victory. Brace from Aleksandar Mitroviàin 6th and 23rd minute and Duà ¡an TadiÃÂ's in 74th minute masterpiece helped Serbia to win the match. On 12 November 2016, Aleksandar MitroviÃÂ's goal in 86th minute, helped Serbia to take a point against Euro 2016 semi-finalists, Wales in Cardiff. On 24 March, in first match in 2017, Serbia defeat 3âÂÂ1 Georgia in Tbilisi. Duà ¡an Tadiàscored the equalizer, from penalty spot in 44th minute. Aleksandar Mitroviàwith beautiful goal give Serbia lead in 64th minute. Mijat GaÃÂinoviàreplaced Filip Kostià81st minute, and scored a goal five minutes later in his first game for national team. On 11 June 2017, Aleksandar Mitroviàscored the only goal for Eagles, against Wales (1âÂÂ1) in the front of 47,000 fans at Rajko MitiàStadium. On 2 September 2017, Serbia defeated Moldova 3âÂÂ0 at Partizan Stadium. Mijat GaÃÂinoviàscored 20th minute and ten minutes later assisted for Aleksandar Kolarov's first goal in these qualifications. Aleksandar Mitroviàscored the third goal for Serbia on this match and continued his amazing performance in these qualifications (six goals in last five qualification matches). Three days later, Serbia defeated Ireland in Dublin 1âÂÂ0 and come on the step of 2018 FIFA World Cup. Aleksandar Kolarov scored a goal in 55th minute. Nikola Maksimoviàwas sent off thirteen minutes later and Eagles played almost half an hour with a player less. Serbia needed a victory on one of two remaining matches. On 6 October, at Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Wien Serbia has lost 3âÂÂ2. The Eagles take the lead in 11th minute, after Luka MilivojeviÃÂ's first goal for national team, but Austria reversed result in 76th minute, but Nemanja Matiàhas scored the equalizer seven minutes later. In 89th minute, Austrians scored the winning goal. Three days later at Rajko MitiàStadium, Aleksandar PrijoviÃÂ's goal in 74th minute against Georgia sent Serbia to the 2018 FIFA World Cup. A couple days after match, coach Slavoljub Muslin was sacked. Mladen Krstajiàsucceeded Muslin as coach of the Serbia national team, initially as a caretaker. He led team on two matches in November. In first match, he made victory against China 2âÂÂ0, but in second Serbia draw 1âÂÂ1 with South Korea. In December, it was announced he would take on the role permanently and at least until the end of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. In March, Serbia played two matches against two strongest African teams. In first match, in Turin, Serbia lost 1âÂÂ2 against Morocco. Duà ¡an Tadiàscored goal for Serbia, in his 50th match for national team. On 27 March, Serbia beat 2âÂÂ0 Nigeria in London. Mitroviàscored two goals for Serbia. In first week of June, Serbia played two matches in Graz against South American teams. In first match, Serbia lost 0âÂÂ1 against Chile, but in second they demolished Bolivia with 5âÂÂ1. Serbia scored four goals in first half. Mitroviàscored first hat-trick in national team.