Serbia Euro 2024 squad announced - Which players should England be wary of?

At least nine and up to 12 men will be axed from the ranks before Serbia begin their first-ever bid for European stardom as an independent nation, having qualified for the first time since reaching the Euro 2000 quarter-finals as Serbia and Montenegro.

The Eagles will be pitting their wits against England, Slovenia and Denmark in Group C for the right to advance to the knockout rounds, and the Three Lions will be their first opponents at the continental gathering on June 16.

With that in mind, Sports Mole takes a look at which Serbian players England should be wary of ahead of their opening battle at the Arena AufSchalke.

70-goal attacking duo

Two men who can be assured of surviving the preliminary-to-final squad cull are Stojkovic's two star strikers in Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic, the former of whom is his nation's all-time male top scorer with a staggering 57 efforts to his name.

Since ending his prolific Fulham stint, the 29-year-old has been making nets bulge for fun in Saudi Arabia with Al-Hilal, contributing an incredible 38 goals from 40 appearances in all tournaments; between October and February, he scored in an unbelievable 11 consecutive Saudi Pro League matches.

The second-highest scorer in the division behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Mitrovic's attacking efforts will be aided by another high-profile centre-forward in Juventus' Dusan Vlahovic, who has struck 13 goals of his own for the national team in 25 matches.

The 24-year-old has not exactly hit the same heights at Juventus as he did at Fiorentina, but 16 goals for the Serie A season is nothing to be scoffed at, leaving Stojkovic spoiled for choice when it comes to talismanic figures up front.

Champions League cult hero

Still going incredibly strong at the age of 35, Dusan Tadic - now plying his trade with Turkish powerhouses Fenerbahce - will proudly sport the Serbian captain's armband at this summer's European Championships.

The former Southampton and Ajax attacker was an irrepressible force for a number of years in Amsterdam - memorably shining during their run to the 2018-19 Champions League semi-finals, the same season he won the Eredivisie Golden Boot with an astounding 28 strikes.

A three-time Serbian Footballer of the Year, Tadic has not lost his prolific streak since leaving Ajax last year, contributing 15 goals and 15 assists from 55 Fenerbahce appearances this season as his side engage in a captivating two-way Turkish Super Lig title fight with Galatasaray.

No men's player has won more caps for Serbia than Tadic's 106, and the 35-year-old has also chalked up 22 goals and 40 assists for his nation since making his first appearance nearly 16 years ago.

Former Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea midfield target

While excelling in the Lazio engine room, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic - an all-action fulcrum with a serious eye for goal - was frequently tipped to take the step-up to a Premier League Big Six club, namely Arsenal, Chelsea or Manchester United.

However, the 29-year-old ultimately joined the profusion of players seduced by Saudi Arabian riches and now joins Mitrovic in donning the Al-Hilal jersey, a move which has certainly worked out on a personal level.

Indeed, Milinkovic-Savic has struck 12 goals and set up 17 more in 43 games for Al-Hilal - hitting double figures in both metrics in the Saudi Pro League campaign - and he also boasts eight efforts from 49 matches in a Serbia jersey.

Also possessing an intimidating physical frame at 6ft 3in tall, Milinkovic-Savic is more than capable of going toe-to-toe with an England midfield lacking any true enforcers, barring Declan Rice and - potentially - the fledgling Adam Wharton.

Serbia Euro 2024 preliminary squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Predrag Rajkovic (Mallorca), Vanja Milinkovic-Savic (Torino), Djordje Petrovic (Chelsea), Aleksandar Jovanovic (Partizan)

Defenders: Nemanja Gudelj (Sevilla), Nikola Milenkovic (Fiorentina), Strahinja Pavlovic (Red Bull Salzburg), Filip Mladenovic (Panathinaikos), Milos Veljkovic (Werder Bremen), Uros Spajic (Red Star Belgrade), Srdan Babic (Spartak Moscow), Strahinja Erakovic (Zenit St Petersburg), Nemanja Stojic (Backa Topola), Jan-Carlo Simic (AC Milan)

Midfielders: Dusan Tadic (Fenerbahce), Filip Kostic (Juventus), Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Al-Hilal), Nemanja Maksimovic (Getafe), Nemanja Radonjic (Mallorca), Sasa Lukic (Fulham), Andrija Zivkovic (PAOK), Mijat Gacinovic (AEK Athens), Ivan Ilic (Torino), Srdan Mijailovic (Red Star Belgrade), Lazar Samardzic (Udinese), Sasa Zdjelar (CSKA Moscow), Veljko Birmancevic (Sparta Prague), Aleksandar Cirkovic (Backa Topola), Matija Gluscevic (Radnicki 1923)

Attackers: Aleksandar Mitrovic (Al-Hilal), Dusan Vlahovic (Fiorentina), Luka Jovic (AC Milan), Petar Ratkov (Red Bull Salzburg), Samed Bazdar (Partizan), Mihailo Ivanovic (Vojvodina)