Unpredictable Serbs have the firepower to strike fear
IF goals pay the rent, Serbia have no shortage of artful lodgers in attack.
Between them, Dusan Tadic (Ajax), Dusan Vlahovic (Fiorentina), Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Lazio) and the Eintracht Frankfurt duo of Luka Jovic and Filip Kostic have scored 36 league goals across three of Europe’s top leagues, the Eredivisie, Serie A and Bundelsiga.
Including the misfiring Aleksandar Mitrovic’s brace for Fulham in the Premier League, it’s up to a healthy 38.
In contrast, the Irish attacking stats are skinny.
Aaron Connolly and Callum Robinson are on the same mark as Mitrovic in the Premier League. After that, you have to dip into the Championship for
James Collins (seven goals), Shane Long (two) and lower again to League One, where Troy Parrott has one.
It’s why there are reasons to be fearful for Ireland’s prospects in Belgrade, especially if Stephen Kenny decides to go toe to toe with a team that is technically better and has more firepower.
‘They probably have about seven forwards and they’re all playing at a good level,’ acknowledged Kenny of the Serbian strikers.
‘Vlahovic got his hat-trick for Fiorentina, Jovic was a €60 million signing to Real Madrid, now back at
Frankfurt scoring goals. They’ve Mitrovic, Tadic, and Milinkovic-Savic in Serie A, who was player of the month at Lazio,’ said Kenny.
‘They’ve got (Nemanja) Radonjic who is a really quick winger and they’ve got (Filip) Kostic who’s a left winger playing at Frankfurt. But they can only really play three of them, maybe four at a push. So it’s difficult to predict who they will play.’
Kenny clearly knows his opponents but can he find a way to spike their attacking threat?
But which Serbian side will show on Wednesday, the one that lost their nerve against Scotland in the Euro final play-off in November, or the side that thumped Russia 5-0 six days later.
Either way, you’d have to expect a reaction under new manager Dragan Stojkovic, whose pre-match message may be a clip of Yugoslavia toying with Spain in the last 16 of the 1990 World Cup and a reminder, ‘Boys, this could be you in Qatar.’
Since independence, Serbia have qualified for three of the last four World Cups, 2006, ’10 and ’18.
With games in Belgrade against Ireland and Portugal before a trip to Azerbaijan, a ninepoint return would effectively ensure a top-two finish in Group A before the Easter eggs are opened.