The Serbia national football team (Serbian: Фудбалска репрезентација Србије / Fudbalska reprezentacija Srbije) represents Serbia in international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia. It was previously known as the Yugoslavia national football team until February 2003 and the Serbia and Montenegro national football team until June 2006 when Serbia declared independence as the successor state to the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. It was renamed the Serbia national football team on 28 June 2006, with the Montenegro national football team created to represent the new state of Montenegro. FIFA and UEFA considers the Serbia national team the direct descendant of the Serbia and Montenegro national team.
History
Although the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was formed on April 28, 1992, because of the international sanctions due to the Yugoslav wars banning the country from international sporting events, the football team didn't play its first match until 23 December 1994, when they lost to Brazil 2-0 in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Since then the team has qualified for the World Cup twice, in 1998 and 2006, and for the European Championship once, in 2000. In 2003, with the reconstitution of the country as Serbia and Montenegro, the team changed its name accordingly. The first international match as Serbia and Montenegro was against Azerbaijan in Podgorica on 12 February 2003, and ended as a 2-2 draw. On May 21, 2006 Montenegro voted to dissolve its political union with Serbia. On June 3, Montenegro became a sovereign state meaning there will be separate Montenegrin national teams competing in future tournaments. This did not affect the finals of the 2006 World Cup, in which the newly independent states of Serbia and Montenegro competed under the same flag for the last time but did not progress past the group stage. On August 16, 2006 the new team representing Serbia played its first international match, with a 3-1 away win against the Czech Republic. World Cup record
European Championship record
2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification
SquadMost recent team called up for the World Cup qualifying matches.
Recent Call UpsThe following players have also been called up to the Serbia squad in 2008.
World Cup 2006 squad
Competitions2006 World Cup
Serbia and Montenegro began their 2006 World Cup 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 10 matches, the best defensive record out all 51 teams participating in qualification. In the group stage, Serbia and Montenegro lost their opening game to joint group favourite, the Netherlands. The final score was 1-0 after Arjen Robben scored the only goal of the game. They also lost their second game to Argentina 6-0, the country'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 Côte d'Ivoire. Despite having a 2-0 lead for much of the first half, the Elephants managed to come back and win 3-2, leaving Serbia and Montenegro with a disappointing 0-0-3 World Cup run. Notable matches
Notable players
Notable players that have played for the national team with at least 15 caps: As Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro)
As Serbia
Coaches
See alsoExternal links
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