Of the three opponents that Brazil will face in the first phase of the World Cup in Qatar, Serbia is the one most likely to impose difficulties on Tite’s team. Famous for presenting technical football, with a cast made up of athletes who play in big clubs in Europe, the nation has been preparing to rescue the nickname “Brazilians of Eastern Europe”, as they were called in the past.
The nickname is old, conquered even when the Serbs were part of the extinct Yugoslavia, which, despite never having won a World Cup, used to be pointed out as one of the likely surprises due to the quality of its players.
This characteristic is also present in the Serbian squad, which won its place in the World Cup by being the leader of its group in the Qualifiers, leaving behind Portugal – which went to the repechage. A feat made possible by the talent of names like Dusan Vlahovic, 22, a forward for whom Juventus paid 81 million euros (R$ 415 million), the most expensive of the last transfer window.
The young striker represents the new generation of a team trained to present an attacking football and physical vigor, as were the teams in Yugoslavia.
In the Qatar Cup, Brazil and Serbia will meet for the sixth time in World Cups, being the second in a row. Alongside Switzerland and Cameroon, the two teams form Group G.
The match will take place in the first round, on November 24, at the Lusail stadium, which will also host the final of the competition, on December 18.
In the first edition of the World Cup, in 1930, in Uruguay, the team from the Balkan region, in the southeastern part of Europe, was also the opponent of the Brazilians in the opening round. At the time, still as a member of the extinct Yugoslavia, they won 2-1.
It was an important result, which helped the Europeans advance to the next stage, while Brazil was eliminated.
Under the Yugoslav flag, there were three more encounters with the Brazilians in World Cups (1950, 1954 and 1974), with a 2-0 victory for the Canarinho team at the World Cup hosted in Brazil, and two draws in the other editions.
The balance lived up to the nickname they earned for the technical ability of their players. The best results of the “Brazilians of Eastern Europe” were the Olympic gold, in 1960, two runners-up in the Eurocup (1960 and 1968) and a fourth place in the 1962 World Cup, in Chile.
Yugoslavia, however, could not resist the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, a mark of the decline of socialism.
In 1991, Croatia, Slovenia and Macedonia declared themselves independent, charting a path that would be followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina the following year.
In 2003, what was left of Yugoslavia took the name of the two remaining republics, Serbia and Montenegro, a union that remained until 2006, when both opted for separation.
For FIFA, the Serbian national team is the official successor of Yugolavia and Serbia and Montenegro and, therefore, carries all the history in World Cups. Therefore, in 2018, Brazil had its rematch at the World Cup held in Russia.
In the last round of Group E, the team led by Tite won 2-0, a result that, in addition to guaranteeing the Brazilians in the round of 16, eliminated the opponent – Switzerland took the second spot.
Despite that defeat, Dragan Stojković, 57, was happy to see Serbia fall into Brazil’s key at the World Cup in Qatar. At least, that’s what the Serbian coach tried to demonstrate right after the draw that defined the competition’s groups, on the last day 1st.
“It will be a very challenging match, but I like to play against great teams,” said the coach. “I’m happy to play against Brazil, because I’m someone who loves technical football a lot. That’s what I want to do with Serbia, play beautiful football, give people fun,” he said.
Stojković was also a player, a very technical midfielder. He played in two World Cups and wore Yugoslavia’s 10th at the 1990 World Cup in Italy. He scored two goals and provided two assists.
In the squad he currently commands, the owner of shirt 10 is Dusan Tadic, 33, from Ajax, from the Netherlands, a team he helped to win two national leagues, in 2018/19 and 2020/21, expanding the dominance in Dutch football. , with 35 tournament cups.
In the European qualifiers, Tadic was also decisive for Serbia’s qualification to the World Cup. It was he who paved the way for a 2-1 victory over Portugal in the last round in Lisbon, when the Serbian team took the direct spot in Group A.
In the dispute of the group, that still had Ireland, Luxembourg and Azerbaijan, another great name was the striker Aleksandar Mitrović, 27. He was the group’s top scorer, with 8 goals, two more than Cristiano Ronaldo, author of 6. And it was he who closed the account in the direct confrontation, at Estádio da Luz, already in extra time.
In the general classification, Mitrović only scored fewer goals than the Polish Robert Lewandowski (9), in addition to the English Harry Kane and the Dutch Memphis Depay, both with 12.
Tadic and Mitrović were also on the field in the clash between Brazil and Serbia in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Dragan Stojković has not yet finalized the list of athletes he will take to Qatar, but it is certain that the squad will be formed by many remnants of the last World Cup, such as Milinković-Savić, from Lazio, and Aleksandar Mitrović, from Fulham. They are the ones who will support young people like Vlahovic, who should debut in World Cups.
The presence of Serbian players in major clubs in Europe is not surprising. The current squad of the national team does not have any player who plays in the teams of Serbia, whose local football does not live its moments of greatest glory.
In the past, Estrela Vermelha, the biggest club in the country, won the European Champions Cup, precursor of the current Champions League, in the 1990/91 season. Currently, the Serbian league, however, is only 11th in the Uefa rankings.
Serbia
Continent: Europe
Capital: Belgrade
Area: 77,474 km²
Population: 7 million
Main achievements in football: gold at the 1960 Olympic Games*, 4th place at the 1930 and 1962 World Cups*, runner-up at the 1960 and 1968 Euro Cups*.
Top scorer: Aleksandar Mitrovic (44 goals)
*As part of the former Yugoslavia
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