Serbia World Cup 2022 preview - prediction, fixtures, squad, star player

While Yugoslavia reached the round of 16 in 1998, Serbia alone have never progressed past the group stage, finishing behind Brazil and Switzerland in 2018, as Xherdan Shaqiri scored an agonising breakaway goal in the 90th minute of the all-important clash.

Coincidentally, Dragan Stojkovic's men will be up against that same pair in this year's competition, in a group rounded off by five-time Africa Cup of Nations winners Cameroon.

Despite falling short last time, however, The Eagles have reason to believe that a blossoming strike partnership can set the tournament alight, as the ultra-talented Dusan Vlahovic joins up with the country's all-time top scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic.

With 50 goals in 76 international appearances, nine goals in 12 in the current Premier League season, and 43 goals in 44 in the Championship last campaign, few can match the scoring rate of Mitrovic, leading his country into his second World Cup at the age of 28.

Further back, 27-year-old Sergej Milinkovic-Savic will play a key role in midfield, having provided seven assists from the Lazio midfield this campaign, while the creative touch of Dusan Tadic, along with the wicked delivery of Filip Kostic should provide healthy service to the deadly duo up top.

With all that in mind, Sports Mole assesses Serbia's chances of exacting revenge on Switzerland, and venturing deep into the 2022 World Cup.

GROUP

Sharing Group G alongside one of the tournament favourites, Brazil, it looks as if Serbia could be battling for second position with Switzerland and Cameroon.

Stojkovic's side take on the five-time winners first, on November 24, so could fall behind the chasing pack early on unless they can spring a surprise.

Meeting Cameroon four days later, a win could be essential to take things to a final-day decider with the side that took their knockout-stage spot last time around.

FIXTURES

November 24: Brazil vs. Serbia (7pm, Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail)

November 28: Cameroon vs. Serbia (10am, Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah)

December 2: Serbia vs. Switzerland (7pm, Stadium 974, Ras Abu Aboud)

HOW THEY QUALIFIED

The Eagles reached their third World Cup in emphatic fashion, remaining unbeaten and topping their group with six wins, and 20 points from a possible 24.

Defeating Portugal away from home to send Fernando Santos's men to the playoffs, the Serbs proved that they are capable of competing with higher-ranked sides, while consistently putting weaker nations to the sword.

Mitrovic stole the show once again with eight goals in five starts, but fantastic performances all over the pitch allowed Serbia's free-flowing 3-4-1-2 to flourish.

Out wide, the relentless running of Kostic on the left was mirrored by Andrija Zivkovic on the right, as tenacious tacklers Sasa Lukic and Nemanja Gudelj worked tirelessly to maintain balance in the midfield.

A solid spine flanked with incisive, attacking talent, it certainly feels as if this is the most exciting Serbian squad for a generation and more.

RECENT FORM

After World Cup qualifying, Serbia turned their attention to the Nations League, where they once again topped their group to earn promotion to League A.

Despite losing their first competitive match in over two months following defeat to an Erling Braut Haaland-inspired Norway on the opening matchday, The Eagles rallied impressively, and won four of their next five, with 13 goals scored.

There will be no prizes for guessing who scored almost half of those, as Mitrovic blasted home a hat-trick in a 4-1 win over Sweden, before teaming up with Vlahovic to seal a 2-0 away win over Norway to seal top spot.

With just two defeats in their last 17 competitive fixtures, Serbia could not be arriving in Qatar in much more solid form.

SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Marko Dmitrovic (Sevilla), Predrag Rajkovic (Mallorca), Vanja Milinkovic-Savic (Torino)

Defenders: Stefan Mitrovic (Getafe), Nikola Milenkovic (Fiorentina), Strahinja Pavlovic (RB Salzburg), Milos Veljkovic (Werder Bremen), Filip Mladenovic (Legia Warsaw), Strahinja Erakovic (Crvena Zvezda), Srdjan Babic (Almeria)

Midfielders: Nemanja Gudelj (Sevilla), Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Lazio), Sasa Lukic (Torino), Marko Grujic (Porto), Filip Kostic (Juventus), Uros Racic (Braga), Nemanja Maksimovic (Getafe), Ivan Ilic (Hellas Verona), Andrija Zivkovic (PAOK), Darko Lazovic (Hellas Verona)

Forwards: Dusan Tadic (Ajax), Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham), Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus), Filip Djuricic (Sampdoria), Luka Jovic (Fiorentina), Nemanja Radonjic (Torino)

STAR PLAYER - DUSAN VLAHOVIC

While his strike partner should continue to be a reliable source of goals, 22-year-old Vlahovic seems to possess the superstar talent to take this Serbian side to the next level.

Following a dominant start to the 2021-22 season, scoring 17 goals and providing four assists for Fiorentina by mid-January, the youngster completed a controversial switch to Juventus, where he has already scored a further 17 in just over 32 full games.

Standing at six-foot-two, with fantastic upper-body strength and speed, Vlahovic is frighteningly direct, possessing a lethal left-footed strike.

Having also scored two sumptuous free kicks this campaign, he can be deadly from set pieces, a skillset that can make all the difference in the all-or-nothing games of a World Cup campaign.

With well over 10 years ahead of him to continue his development, this could be the first of many opportunities on the international stage for Dusan Vlahovic to shine.

MANAGER - DRAGAN STOJKOVIC

Former Red Star Belgrade midfielder Dragan Stojkovic has been in charge of the national side since early 2021, leading his side to 13 wins and 41 goals from his opening 20 games.

Affectionately known as Piksi, the playmaker won the Champions League with Marseille, before moving on to spend eight years with Nagoya Grampus in Japan.

Stojkovic also began his managerial career in 2008 with the Japanese club, famously being sent off after scoring a first-time volley from his technical area after a stoppage in play.

He would go on to guide Grampus to their first ever J League title, before moving to China to take charge of Guangzhou R&F, where he would oversee four goal-stuffed seasons.

Taking over from Ljubisa Tumbakovic on his 56th birthday, there are not many other international squads who fit his preferred 3-4-1-2 as well as his current crop.

WORLD CUP RECORD

Best finish: Group stage (2010, 2018)

Serbia's complicated geopolitical past makes it difficult to track their exact history in the competition, but as a standalone nation, The Eagles have not ever made it past the group stages.

Finishing third in 2018 with four points, the nation finished bottom of a group including Germany, Ghana and Australia in 2010, as they pulled off a shock win against the Germans, only to lose their other two encounters.

As SFR Yugoslavia, they finished in fourth place in 1962, losing to host nation Chile in the third-place playoff.

The Kingdom of Yugoslavia also finished as semi-finalists in the inaugural edition of the competition in 1930, as they were defeated by the eventual champions Uruguay.

With the opportunity to create new history for the nation, a deep run into the 2022 World Cup would be a special achievement for Stojkovic's men.

PREDICTION

Heading into the tournament in such fantastic form, and with such exciting talent all over the pitch, it is hard to ignore Serbia as a potential dark horse pick.

Very capable of causing problems to Brazil, The Eagles should have too much for Switzerland and Cameroon by way of attacking firepower, to qualify from Group G.

The draw could pit Serbia against Portugal if both teams finish in the requisite positions in their groups, representing a fascinating rematch following the heated qualification process, although that could prove to be a step too far for them this time around.

VERDICT: Last 16