Paunovic Leaves Out Vlahovic and Mitrovic for Serbia Friendlies
Head coach Veljko Paunovic has named his squad for Serbia's June friendlies, with Dusan Vlahovic and Aleksandar Mitrovic left out due to injury concerns. The Eagles report for camp on Tuesday.
- Veljko Paunovic has named Serbia's squad for two June friendlies.
- Dusan Vlahovic and Aleksandar Mitrovic were left out over injury concerns.
- The Eagles face Cape Verde and Mexico, with the squad reporting for camp on Tuesday.
The phone in the Serbia dressing room rang earlier than any supporter expected. Paunovic sat down, ran a finger down the list of names, and paused at two strikers. Vlahovic and Mitrovic, the two men around whom the Serbian attack has been built for years, did not make the cut this time. Not because of form, not because of a falling out, but because of the words a coach hates to hear at the end of a season, “there is an injury concern.”
The manager has announced his names for two June friendlies, and the Eagles report for camp on Tuesday. Serbia will face Cape Verde and Mexico, two opponents of very different character, but for Paunovic this June the match against the opponent matters less than the match against the calendar. After a grueling club season, the staff’s assessment is clear. There is no need to risk players who are carrying both fatigue and minor knocks in their legs.
And that is where the real story of this squad begins. Because when you leave out two strikers used to carrying the burden of goals, you open the door for someone else. June matches rarely deliver trophies, but they have a way of making an international. Whoever earns minutes against Mexico will remember that call far longer than the result.
Why save your best strikers now?
The answer lies in one word the coach repeats like a mantra, risk. Vlahovic and Mitrovic have come through a long and draining club season, with dozens of matches in their legs and little room for a proper rest. A small knock in June, in a match that carries no points, easily turns into a problem that costs the autumn fixtures. Paunovic has clearly decided not to gamble with what he needs when the games that decide qualification arrive.
There is a cold calculation in this that fans do not like to hear, but they understand it. A friendly is a laboratory, not a final. The coach has been handed two dates to try out solutions, to look at younger players up front, and to see who can carry the load when the stars are off the pitch. Better to find that out now, against Cape Verde and Mexico, than at the moment when it is too late for experiments.
The question that remains is how the team will look without two established goalscorers. The Serbian attack has leaned too heavily on the moods of Vlahovic and Mitrovic in recent years, and June is a chance to ease that dependence at least a little. If someone seizes the chance, Paunovic will have the luxury of choice in the autumn. If not, the problem stays exactly where it was.
What comes next for the Eagles
The next step is simple and concrete. The players report on Tuesday, and then come two matches against Cape Verde and Mexico in which the staff will be looking for answers, not necessarily wins. Paunovic has made it plain that the squad’s fitness comes before the prestige of a friendly result, and that is a message worth taking seriously.
For supporters this is a chance to see something they do not usually get, a national team in process, without automatic solutions and without safe goals from the boots of proven strikers. Some will call it a weakened side. I would rather say this is a test of depth, and depth is what separates good national teams from those that live off two men.
So I ask you, has Paunovic made the wise move by saving Vlahovic and Mitrovic for bigger battles, or did the national team need their quality on the pitch right now?
