Serbia U23 Win Mini-Football World Cup in Mali Losinj
Nebojsa Desnica's side beat Romania in the final in Mali Losinj, and Milanov calls it a year to remember: silver for the women and bronze for the seniors too.
Srdjan Radakovic put Serbia ahead in the third minute of the final in Mali Losinj, and Romania needed only two more minutes to answer. That is how Alo describes the opening, reporting that Danijel Nekula made it 1-1 in the 5th minute. By the end of the evening on October 16, Serbia’s under-23 squad were mini-football world champions.
What did the sources report about the final?
Alo says the first half ended level at 1-1. According to the same account, Dusan Vlalukin restored the lead in the 29th minute, and Radakovic set the final score in the 37th minute, on an assist from Vlalukin.
The sources part ways on the score. Alo says the final ended 3-1, while RTS and Sportissimo both say Serbia beat Romania 4-1. Alo’s account lists three Serbian goals, which matches its own score but does not explain the extra goal in the other reports. These three texts do not settle which result is correct, so both are given here. The scorers and minutes come from Alo’s report alone and are not confirmed by a second source.
How did Serbia get to the title?
According to Sportissimo, the tournament was played in Mali Losinj from October 12 to 17. Serbia won all six of its matches, with no draws and no defeats. In the group stage it beat England, the Czech Republic, the United Arab Emirates and Ukraine, and in the semifinal it beat Hungary 5-0. The team is coached by Nebojsa Desnica.
The tournament awards all went to the same team:
- best goalkeeper: Aleksa Palkovljevic
- top scorer: Srdjan Radakovic
- player of the final: Dusan Vlalukin
What did the federation president say?
Mini-football Association of Serbia president Sinisa Milanov summed up the year for Sportissimo in a few sentences:
“This is a year to remember for Serbian mini-football! The senior national team won European bronze, our clubs took part in every European competition, the under-23 squad became world champions, and the women’s national team world runners-up.”
In the same statement, Milanov added:
“All of these successes confirm that top-level mini-football is played in Serbia and that our country belongs to the very top of the world. These are golden moments for Serbian mini-football and results we can all be proud of!”
Silver for the women and bronze for the seniors
Serbia’s senior women’s national team also won a medal at the same World Cup. They lost the final 0-2 to the American side Dream Team and took silver. RTS rates it as the greatest success in the history of women’s mini-football in Serbia.
The senior men’s national team won bronze at this year’s European Championship in Bratislava. Together with the under-23 title and the women’s silver, that makes three medals for Serbian mini-football in a single year.
