Paunovic recalls Mitrovic and Vlahovic, drops Gudelj
The Serbia coach named a 29-man squad for Germany and Greece at his old primary school, with Serbia having lost all four Nations League games.
The names of the goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards were written on a school blackboard in a child’s handwriting. Instead of a press conference, Serbia coach Veljko Paunovic went back to the Stefan Nemanja Primary School in Belgrade, where he was a pupil himself, and on November 3 announced the squad for the last two Nations League games. Current pupils, his former teacher and classmates from the class of 1977 helped him.
The 29-man squad includes Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic again.
Why does the Mitrovic and Vlahovic recall matter?
Mitrovic, the national team’s all-time top scorer, has not played for Serbia since the March games against Spain and Saudi Arabia, a gap of 217 days. Vlahovic has not featured for the national team since November 2025 and the failed World Cup qualifiers, exactly one year ago, so he missed all four of Serbia’s Nations League games so far.
Serbia lost every one of them, without a point or a win. The call-up looks like an attempt to play the last two rounds with the strongest attack the coach has available. Besides the two returnees, the forwards are Luka Jovic (AEK) and Mihajlo Cvetkovic (Anderlecht), who can also play on the wing.
Mitrovic now plays for Al Rayyan and Vlahovic for Besiktas.
Who is out of the squad, and who is back?
Nemanja Gudelj is missing, which is the biggest surprise. Also absent are Ognjen Mimovic, who has not played a minute for Fenerbahce this season, and Dejan Joveljic. Goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic has not been in the squad since March.
Nikola Milenkovic of Nottingham Forest returns after missing the first four Nations League games through injury. Several younger players kept their places: Stefan Gudelj, Vanja Dragojevic, Petar Sukacev, Vasilije Kostov, Stefan Dzodic and Vladimir Lucic.
The goalkeepers are Vanja Milinkovic-Savic (Napoli), Djordje Petrovic (Bournemouth), Filip Stankovic (Venezia) and Dragan Rosic (Vojvodina). There are twelve midfielders, among them Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Al-Hilal), Lazar Samardzic (Atalanta), Filip Kostic (PSV Eindhoven) and Dusan Tadic (NEC Nijmegen). Nine defenders and four forwards complete the list.
Who cannot play against Germany?
Nemanja Maksimovic (Al Ahli) and Sasa Lukic (Ipswich) are in the squad but are suspended for the first game because of yellow cards. The coach will have to build his midfield against the Germans without two players from that line.
The stands will be empty, or nearly so. Because of a UEFA sanction, the game against Germany will be played without regular spectators, and only organized groups of children under 14 will be allowed in the east stand, with limited exceptions under UEFA rules. According to Mozzart Sport, that is why the squad was announced at a primary school.
When does Serbia play Germany and Greece?
Both games are in Nations League Group A2 and kick off at 8:45 p.m.:
- Friday, November 13: Serbia v Germany, Rajko Mitic Stadium in Belgrade
- Monday, November 16: Greece v Serbia, Pantesaliko Stadium in Volos
After these two rounds Serbia finishes its run in League A. The first test for Mitrovic and Vlahovic comes on November 13 in Belgrade, without regular spectators.
