Serbia’s defensive issues ahead of match against Switzerland

The Serbian national team will also have to be without important defensive personnel when they travel to Zurich. But the bearer of hope is back in the storm.

Both defenders were suspended in the last game against Spain. Zenit St. Petersburg's Erakovic received a second yellow card, and AC Milan's Strahinja Pavlovich was sent off with a red card. Of Serbia's three-man defense that has played in all Nations League games, only Nikola Milenkovic remained on Friday. The situation of Serbian national team coach Stojkovic is similar to that of his counterpart Murat Yakin, who had to make some defensive changes due to injury.

Serbia also lost regular goalkeeper Pudrag Rajkovic, who saved Brel Embolo's penalty in October. He is said to be suffering from hip problems.

Predela Rajkovic and his teammates celebrate a saved penalty.Image: trapezoid

Coach Stojkovic also prepared good news for the team: Dusan Vlahovich is back. Unlike Noah Okafor, who is set to return to the Swiss national team, the Juventus forward missed games at his own request in September and October. His explanation that he wanted to deal with family issues during the international break sparked speculation. There was speculation that there was a rift between the coach and the striker. Also because Stojkovic only replaced his European Championship star forward in the 67th minute of the final group match. The match ended 0-0, and Serbia was eliminated at the bottom of the group.

Now Vlahovic is back, although it's unclear if he will return to the starting lineup after the hiatus. The 24-year-old is the Serbian's best hope. He has proven his importance many times with 13 goals in 30 international appearances, but critics complain that he has yet to show his best form in the big games.

Vlahovic's European Cup performance has been disappointing.Image: trapezoid

While Vlahovic attracts a lot of attention, it's sometimes forgotten that Serbia can still rely on its record goalscorer. Aleksandar Mitrovic has a staggering record of 59 goals in 96 international appearances. It is well known, especially in Switzerland, how dangerous the 30-year-old remains even after his move to Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal. The striker has scored in all three games against Switzerland, most recently in Leskovac a month ago with a superb strike that made it 2-0. However, this was one of the few games where Serbia was able to show its attacking prowess. The team has failed to score in five of its past seven games.

The defense is battered and the frontline is no longer efficient: on Friday, two national teams currently facing similar problems will meet. Chief tacticians Yakin and Stojkovic need to make the right moves. (Standard Data Authority)

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