The Serbian national football team failed to qualify for the World Cup, as they were defeated by England at Wembley by a score of 2:0, with goals from Bukayo Saka and Eze, while on the other side Albania celebrated in Andorra with a minimal result and made history.
The match did not start well for the Eagles; England pressed from the first minute, while Veljko Paunović’s players were looking for chances from counterattacks. As early as the fourth minute Dušan Vlahović could have complicated things for the hosts, but he lacked support, so a corner was the most the Juventus striker could earn. Problems arose when Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford were given too much space near our penalty area, triggering a barrage of shots that ultimately brought England the lead in the 28th minute. After an intervention from our defense, the ball “fell” perfectly to Saka’s foot, and Predrag Rajković was powerless after the first-time volley from Arsenal’s attacker.
Great misfortune befell Ivan Ilić, who had to leave the pitch after a little more than half an hour of play, and Aleksandar Stanković came on in his place. It was extremely dangerous for the Eagles again a few minutes later, when after England’s corner Harry Kane rose highest in the air but headed the ball over the goal. Serbia had its best chance only 60 seconds before the end of the first half. Veljko Paunović’s players surprised everyone; Filip Kostić was played through, but Jordan Pickford came out in time and intervened.
In the first 45 minutes Serbia showed much more compared to the match at Marakana, when England were dominant, but the Eagles needed a goal and more involvement in attack in the second half.
England continued in the same rhythm after the break. Serbia was inferior in the opening minutes of the second half and simply had no answer for the well-positioned players of the Three Lions. While Serbia had no chances worth mentioning, Marcus Rashford kept threatening Predrag Rajković. Serbia’s best opportunity in the first hour came through Kostić, who broke down the left flank and crossed the ball into the heart of the box, but Dušan Vlahović only managed to graze it, even though Aleksandar Stanković behind him could have reached it much more easily and scored.
The English continued at the same pace, creating chances through Saka and Rashford. Substitutions such as Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham continued to cause problems, and as the match went on the Eagles were drifting further away from the World Cup, as Albania had taken the lead in Andorra with half an hour remaining at Wembley.
In the end, Veljko Paunović tried with substitutions—Marko Grujić, Luka Jović, and Nemanja Radonjić—but the Eagles did not succeed and were left without the World Cup. In the end, Eze put the final stamp on the outcome.
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Source: Telegraf; Foto: Tanjug / AP