Serbia have established themselves as a fixture at the World Cup since 2010, with Qatar 2022 marking their third participation in the last four tournaments.
Dragan Stojkovic also becomes the third coach to take them to a World Cup as their reputation for firing coaches shows little sign of slowing down.
Serbia impressed in qualifying to finish Group A ahead of Portugal at the top. However, they face a battle to make it out of Group G at the tournament, with veteran contenders Switzerland and Cameroon looking to battle behind Brazil for a place in the last 16.
MORE: World Cup Group G: Profiles of Serbia, Brazil, Cameroon and Switzerland
Expected Serbian World Cup squad 2022
Stojkovic will have through Friday 21 October provide FIFA with an official provisional list of 35-55 players from which to select one final 26-man roster for Qatar by Monday 14 November.
Based on last year’s World Cup qualifying squads and friend lists, these are the names most likely to make his provisional list.
| position | player | association | Age | caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| goalkeeper | Marko Dmitrovic | Seville (Spain) | 30 | 19 |
| goalkeeper | Vanja Milinkovic-Savic | Torino (ITA) | 25 | 6 |
| goalkeeper | Marco Ilic | Kortrijk (BEL) | 24 | 1 |
| goalkeeper | Predrag Rajkovic | Roma (ITA) | 26 | 28 |
| defender | Stefan Mitrovic | Getafe (SPA) | 32 | 34 |
| defender | Strahinja Pavlovic | RB Salzburg (AUS) | 21 | 21 |
| defender | Milos Veljkovic | Werder Bremen (DE) | 27 | 21 |
| defender | Filip Mladenovic | Legia Warsaw (POL) | 31 | 19 |
| defender | Alexa Terzic | Florence (ITA) | 23 | 5 |
| defender | Srdan Babic | Almeria (SPA) | 26 | 2 |
| defender | Erhan Masovic | VfL Bochum (GER) | 23 | 2 |
| defender | Strahinja Erakovic | Red Star Belgrade (SER) | 21 | 1 |
| defender | Nikola Milenkovic | Florence (ITA) | 25 | 37 |
| defender | Matija Nastasic | Majorca (SPA) | 29 | 34 |
| defender | Uros Spajic | Kasimpasa (TUR) | 29 | 20 |
| defender | Markus Petkovic | Honved (HUN) | 30 | 4 |
| defender | Mihailo Ristic | Red Star Belgrade (SER) | 26 | 9 |
| defender | Milan Gajic | CSKA Moscow (RUS) | 26 | 1 |
| defender | Nemanja Milunovic | Red Star Belgrade (SER) | 33 | 4 |
| defender | Svetozar Markovic | Partizan Belgrade (SER) | 22 | |
| defender | Slobodan Urosevic | Partizan Belgrade (SER) | 28 | 3 |
| defender | Milan Rodic | Red Star Belgrade (SER) | 31 | 7 |
| midfield player | Dusan Tadic | Ajax | 33 | 90 |
| midfield player | Filip Kostic | Juventus (ITA) | 29 | 50 |
| midfield player | Stefan Mitrovic | Red Star Belgrade (SER) | 20 | 1 |
| midfield player | Nemanja Maksimovic | Getafe (SPA) | 27 | 39 |
| midfield player | Nemanja Radonjic | Torino (ITA) | 26 | 36 |
| midfield player | Filip Duricic | Samdoria (ITA) | 30 | 36 |
| midfield player | Sasa Lukic | Turin (ENG) | 26 | 32 |
| midfield player | Andrija Zivkovic | PAOK (GR) | 26 | 28 |
| midfield player | Darko Lasovic | Verona (ITA) | 32 | 25 |
| midfield player | Lazar Samardzic | Udinese (ITA) | 20 | |
| midfield player | Sasa Zdjelar | CSKA Moscow (RUS) | 27 | 3 |
| midfield player | Mijat Gacinovic | AEK Athens (GRE) | 27 | 23 |
| midfield player | Darko Brasanac | Osasuna | 30 | 3 |
| midfield player | Mihajlo Banjac | Krasnodar (RUS) | 22 | |
| midfield player | Ivan Ilic | Verona (ITA) | 21 | 5 |
| midfield player | Sergej Milinkovic-Savic | Lazio (ITA) | 27 | 35 |
| midfield player | Nemandja Gudelj | Seville (SPA | 30 | 48 |
| midfield player | Marko Grujic | Postage (POR) | 26 | 17 |
| midfield player | Uros Racic | Braga (POR) | 24 | 9 |
| midfield player | Veljko Birmancevic | Toulouse (FRA) | 24 | 3 |
| Forward | Alexander Katai | Red Star Belgrade (SER) | 31 | 10 |
| Forward | Lazar Randelovic | Urals Yekaterinburg (RUS) | 25 | 1 |
| Forward | Nemanja Jovic | Partizan Belgrade (SER) | 20 | 2 |
| Forward | Aleksandar Mitrovic | Fulham (ENG) | 28 | 76 |
| Forward | Lukas Jovic | Florence (ITA) | 24 | 28 |
| Forward | Dejan Joveljic | LA Galaxy (USA) | 23 | 2 |
| Forward | Djorde Jovanovic | Maccabi Tel Aviv (ISR) | 23 | 1 |
| Forward | Daniel Alexic | Basaksehir (TUR) | 31 | 2 |
| Forward | Aleksandar Pesic | Red Star Belgrade (SER) | 30 | 1 |
| Forward | Dorde Despotovic | Arsenal Tula (RUS) | 30 | |
| Forward | Dusan Wlahovic | Juventus (ITA) | 22 | 16 |
Final 26-man World Cup squad for Serbia
Serbia face a real challenge against Brazil in their opener in Qatar on November 24, but first they play a final friendly against Bahrain on November 18.
Here’s a projected look at who could potentially make it onto the plane, assuming everyone is fit and available.
| position | player | association | Age | caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| goalkeeper | Marko Dmitrovic | Seville (Spain) | 30 | 19 |
| goalkeeper | Vanja Milinkovic-Savic | Torino (ITA) | 25 | 6 |
| goalkeeper | Marco Ilic | Kortrijk (BEL) | 24 | 1 |
| defender | Stefan Mitrovic | Getafe (SPA) | 32 | 34 |
| defender | Strahinja Pavlovic | RB Salzburg (AUS) | 21 | 21 |
| defender | Milos Veljkovic | Werder Bremen (DE) | 27 | 21 |
| defender | Filip Mladenovic | Legia Warsaw (POL) | 31 | 19 |
| defender | Alexa Terzic | Florence (ITA) | 23 | 5 |
| defender | Srdan Babic | Almeria (SPA) | 26 | 2 |
| defender | Nikola Milenkovic | Florence (ITA) | 25 | 37 |
| defender | Matija Nastasic | Majorca (SPA) | 29 | 34 |
| midfield player | Dusan Tadic | Ajax | 33 | 90 |
| midfield player | Filip Kostic | Juventus (ITA) | 29 | 50 |
| midfield player | Nemanja Maksimovic | Getafe (SPA | 27 | 39 |
| midfield player | Nemanja Radonjic | Torino (ITA) | 26 | 36 |
| midfield player | Filip Duricic | Samdoria (ITA) | 30 | 36 |
| midfield player | Sasa Lukic | Turin (ENG) | 26 | 32 |
| midfield player | Andrija Zivkovic | PAOK (GR) | 26 | 28 |
| midfield player | Darko Lasovic | Verona (ITA) | 32 | 25 |
| midfield player | Sergej Milinkovic-Savic | Lazio (ITA) | 27 | 35 |
| midfield player | Nemandja Gudelj | Seville (Spain) | 30 | 48 |
| midfield player | Marko Grujic | Postage (POR) | 26 | 17 |
| midfield player | Uros Racic | Braga (POR) | 24 | 9 |
| Forward | Aleksandar Mitrovic | Fulham (ENG) | 28 | 76 |
| Forward | Lukas Jovic | Florence (ITA) | 24 | 28 |
| Forward | Dusan Wlahovic | Juventus (ITA) | 22 | 16 |
Serbia’s Best Players, Strengths & Weaknesses
All eyes will be on it Aleksandar Mitrovic To lead Serbia’s World Cup challenge, with the veteran striker being one of Qatar’s top international goalscorers.
The Fulham star will be key for Serbia as his goals have often decided their fate but Stojkovic is well equipped in midfield Nemanja Gudelj and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic form a strong pair.
Stars
Mitrovic will draw most of the attention in Qatar but his attacking partners have an even brighter future than him.
Lukas Jovic begins to revive his Serie A career after a nightmare at Real Madrid with Juventus star Dusan Wlahovic one of the strongest strikers in Italian football at the moment.
weaknesses
There will be plenty of pressure on Milinkovic-Savic to lead the Serbian midfield but the Lazio star has previously struggled to translate his club form into the international sphere and there is a notable lack of mobility behind him.
Serbia World Cup group
Brazil appear well positioned to progress out of Group G and into the knockout rounds, with a likely three-way battle for the other place in the round of 16.
Experience has shown that little separates Serbia, Switzerland and Cameroon, but they will all be confident of having an advantage.
Serbia Group G fixtures and schedule
| date | Fit | time (ET) | Stadion |
| Thursday 24th Nov | Brazil vs. Serbia | 14 o’clock | Lusail Stadium |
| Mon, Nov 28 | Cameroon vs. Serbia | 5 am | Al Janoub Stadium |
| Fri, Dec 2 | Serbia vs. Switzerland | 14 o’clock | Stadium 974 |
Can Serbia replace players in World Cup squad?
Once the final 26-man squad is official, teams participating in the World Cup can only make changes prior to the first game of the tournament and only in exceptional circumstances.
According to the Official Tournament Rules, “A player listed on the final list may only be replaced in the event of a serious injury or illness up to 24 hours before the start of his team’s first game.”
The team in question would have to submit a medical report to FIFA and if the world governing body determines that “the injury or illness is so serious that the player is unable to play at the FIFA World Cup”, the replacement will be allowed.
The substitute player must be from the provisional list of players submitted to FIFA in October.
