A painful defeat: Albania in Leskovac pushes Serbia further away from the World Cup

At the “Dubočica” stadium, Serbia’s team fell further behind in the race for second place and a playoff spot for the World Cup. With this defeat, Serbia remains four points behind Albania, which has a game in hand.

So, even with a win over Andorra in three days, the “Eagles’” fate is no longer in their own hands.

Head coach Dragan Stojković decided to give a chance to two debutants in this crucial match — Veljko Milosavljević and Aleksandar Stanković.

The latter made his first appearance for the national team on the very same date his father, Dejan, played his last — exactly 12 years apart. Fittingly, it happened in a match where captain Aleksandar Mitrović tied Dejan Stanković for third place on the national team’s all-time appearances list (102).

Sofascore

Serbia had a clear plan to catch Albania off guard from the very start, focusing almost exclusively on the left flank. That’s where Filip Kostić operated, while his counterpart on the opposite side, Andrija Živković, was largely inactive during the first half.

Juventus’ winger tirelessly patrolled the sideline and created Serbia’s best chance when he set up his club teammate Dušan Vlahović, who sent a volley from close range just wide of the far post.

Vlahović would go on to create the only other real opportunity for the “Eagles” in the first 45 minutes with a long-range shot straight down the middle, highlighting just how underwhelming the team’s performance was.

In the end, halftime came early — after a disastrous defensive lapse, Albania took the lead when Rey Manaj struck a superb volley past goalkeeper Petrovic to make it 1–0.

Although it was expected that Serbia would play more boldly in the second half, the team remained extremely nervous, with no tactical changes made by coach Stojković during the break.

By the end of the match, five more players had made their debuts following the substitutions of Ilić, Kostov, and Zukić, yet Serbia’s chances in the second 45 minutes were virtually nonexistent.

Moreover, Albania was the side that came closer to a second goal, especially deep into stoppage time when Petrović denied Nedim Bajrami in a one-on-one situation.

Given what was seen on the pitch, the crowd at the stadium singled out Stojković as responsible for the result.

Serbia still has three matches left, but will most likely have to “fight” for qualification at Wembley. It won’t be easy.

Group K results:

Latvia – Andorra 2:1 (1:1)

Zelenkovs 41, Gutkovskis 55p – San Nikolas 33, Oliveira 78

Serbia – Albania 0:1 (0:1)

Manaj 45+1