By Martin Petty
DUESSELDORF, Germany (Reuters) – Serbia spent two decades in the European Championship cold before Euro 2024 and after three dismal matches, they might wish they had stayed there.
The Eagles came with a talented squad drawn from the big leagues of England, Germany, Spain and Italy but muddled through all of their Group C matches, exiting on Tuesday with only a single goal to their name.
It defies belief that players who had showed attacking flair and clinical finishing week in, week out for their clubs were the worst team in front of goal at Euro 2024 and could muster only six shots on target in the tournament.
The in-form Aleksandar Mitrovic had promised much coming into the contest as one of the most prolific marksmen for club and country, but he hit a wall in Germany, while Dusan Vlahovic had dazzled for Juventus and failed again to deliver for the national side.
It was a familiar story for Serbia, who qualified for three of the last four World Cups and were eliminated each time at the group stage, though never before with so few goals.
“It leaves a bitter impression,” said Mitrovic, who had scored 28 goals in 28 matches in the Saudi league this season, a tally bettered only by Portuguese maestro Ronaldo.
“It was clear that we could play with everyone, but we didn’t do enough of what we had to do.”
Forward and captain Dusan Tadic called it a huge disappointment.
“Realistically, it is a failure,” he said.
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What vexed fans was that coach and national football icon Dragan Stojkovic was unable to impart on his team the trademark class and creativity he showed as a player, in what was supposed to be an attack-minded side with its weaknesses at the back.
Serbia lost a scruffy opener 1-0 against England that they were never expected to win, but were feisty in their efforts to stifle the Three Lions and showed some signs of promise for games to come.
Their next opponent was unheralded Slovenia, who proved to be a bigger challenge than anticipated, with Zan Karnicnik’s 69th-minute goal forcing Serbia into a scramble to salvage something from the game.
Mitrovic spurned six chances on goal before substitute Luka Jovic rescued Serbia in stoppage time with the last kick of the match to earn a point. Stojkovic praised their fighting spirit, but rued missed opportunities.
Their fate came down to a decider against Denmark where Serbia defended much of the game and again left it late to surmount a challenge, bringing on Jovic and piling everything into attack to try to snatch a goal, with Mitrovic appealing for multiple penalties.
It finished 0-0, with Serbia rooted to the bottom of the table and out of Euro 2024, leaving with more yellow cards than shots on target.
The Serbian sports daily Zurnal headlined on the team being booed off the field by fans and plastic bottles hurled at players.
“They really don’t deserve to go through,” one fan commented under the article, while another lamented Serbia’s muted performances at major tournaments, saying “Our football quality is in qualification only. That’s it.”
(Reporting by Martin Petty; Editing by Toby Chopra)
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