Vlahovic Ruled Out of Serbia's Nations League Squad

Dusan Vlahovic scored a goal in Turkey on Sunday, celebrated it in front of the Besiktas bench, and walked off the pitch as the hero of the night. Two days later, that picture no longer matters. The forward told coach Veljko Paunovic that an injury will keep him out of Belgrade, and Serbia will open its first September Nations League window without its best man up front.

The injury happened in that very match, against Amedspor, where Vlahovic played the full 90 minutes and scored, but also picked up several rough challenges along the way. According to Mozzart Sport, that is where the damage occurred that forced him to pull out of the national team gathering.

The loss stings even more given how sharp his form has been. Since arriving in Istanbul, Vlahovic has played seven matches for Besiktas and scored five goals, including the winner in the derby against Fenerbahce. Paunovic, who already lost Aleksandar Mitrovic to an earlier withdrawal, is now left with an even thinner striker pool: Luka Jovic, who has been finding the net regularly in Greece in recent months, Dejan Joveljic, who keeps scoring match after match, and the younger Jovan Milosevic and Mihajlo Cvetkovic.

Before the injury was even a talking point, Vlahovic spoke to Mozzart Sport about the team’s ambitions heading into the competition.

“Our ambitions are the highest, but we have to be realistic. All our focus should be on the match with Greece, and against the Netherlands and Germany we should give our maximum and try to take what we can. In football you never know, but our primary goal should be third place in the group.”

Now that match with Greece, the one he singled out as the priority, will have to be won without him.

When and Where Does Serbia Play?

The opening round of Group A2 is scheduled for Thursday, September 24, at 8:45 PM, at the Rajko Mitic Stadium. That is according to Sportklub, Tanjug and Arena Sport. Mozzart Sport, however, lists the fixture the other way around, as Greece against Serbia, leaving the sources disagreeing on who hosts. Three days later, on September 27, the Netherlands visit the same venue, kicking off at 6 PM according to Sportklub. Two away matches follow: on October 1 in Munich against Germany, and on October 4 in Eindhoven against the Netherlands, as Sportklub reports.

A Referee with World Cup Experience

For the opening match, UEFA appointed Sweden’s Glen Niberg as the main referee, assisted by Mahbod Beigi and Andreas Soderkvist. The fourth official will also be Swedish, Adam Ladebek, while the VAR booth will be staffed by Spaniards Guillermo Cuadra Fernandez and Cesar Soto Grado. Niberg has been refereeing at the top level of Swedish football since 2013, has held FIFA status since 2016, and has the 2023 Under 20 World Cup final and matches at the 2024 Olympics on his resume. Experience, in short, is not something he lacks.

The Netherlands are not entering the window free of problems either, much like Serbia. Two new players were called up ahead of the matches with Germany and Serbia because of injuries.

Paunovic now has to build his attack without his top scorer, and in football that is rarely replaced by a single player. Jovic is in form, Joveljic is scoring in bunches, and the young Cvetkovic is looking for his chance to make a mark in front of his own crowd. The answer starts already on Thursday, at Rajko Mitic, against Greece.