Serbia face friendlies against Cape Verde and Mexico
Serbia play two warm-up matches, against Cape Verde in Lisbon and Mexico in Toluca, as Veljko Paunovic builds a side without Dusan Vlahovic.
- Serbia play a friendly against Cape Verde in Lisbon and against Mexico in Toluca.
- Dusan Vlahovic has been left out after a season disrupted by injuries.
- Manager Veljko Paunovic previously coached the Mexican clubs Guadalajara and Tigres.
- Serbia's new Nations League cycle puts them in a group with Germany, the Netherlands and Greece.
The flight to Lisbon took off with one empty seat that supporters had expected to see filled. The place of Serbia’s best striker has gone unclaimed for this window, and it is the first talking point in every dressing room these days. Dusan Vlahovic is not in the squad.
Serbia begin a double-header of friendlies, first against Cape Verde in Lisbon, then against Mexico in Toluca. Two very different tests, on two continents of thinking, in weeks when every minute on the pitch counts.
What is the manager looking for in these matches?
Veljko Paunovic does not treat this window as a formality. Mexico are an opponent with a history he knows personally, having previously coached Guadalajara and Tigres, two of the most pressured clubs in that league. He knows how they play there, and he knows how they lose there, which is exactly why the match in Toluca is no ordinary run-out but a test of character away from home, at an altitude that can break an unprepared side.
Vlahovic’s absence after an injury-hit season opens space to see who shoulders the attacking burden. Lisbon against Cape Verde is a match in search of rhythm, Toluca against Mexico a match in search of the limits of stamina. The manager is building a team that can survive both scenarios.
The numbers and the context
Mexico are using these two matches as preparation for the 2026 World Cup, which they will host. That means Serbia in Toluca face a side riding a wave of motivation, in front of a crowd that expects nothing but victory from its national team. That atmosphere is exactly what a side needs before serious commitments.
And those commitments arrive quickly. Serbia’s new Nations League cycle puts them in a group with Germany, the Netherlands and Greece, terrain that forgives no lapse in concentration. The friendlies against Cape Verde and Mexico are the last chance to make mistakes where nothing is at stake.
What next?
After Lisbon and Toluca, the focus shifts to the Nations League, where a group with three strong rivals leaves no room for experiments. These two matches are the laboratory, the real thing begins when the scoreboard reads Germany, the Netherlands and Greece.
Do you believe Serbia can come through such a tough Nations League group without Vlahovic?
