Preview: Serbia vs Greece - prediction, team news, lineups

Two European countries who failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup butt heads at Stadion Rajko Mitic in Belgrade, as Serbia play host to Greece in their opening UEFA Nations League fixture on Thursday night.

Both nations will test their mettle in League A Group 2 alongside Germany and the Netherlands, with a top-two finish required to progress to the quarter-finals.

Match preview

After completing at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, Serbia watched on from home over the summer after finishing third in their qualification group, just one point behind runners-up Albania who secured a playoff spot.

The Eagles concluded their campaign with a narrow 2-1 home win over Latvia in November last year and they have since played four friendly fixtures in 2026, winning just one of those against Saudi Arabia and losing the other three to Spain, Cape Verde and Mexico by an aggregate score of 11-1.

Head coach Veljko Paunovic recently admitted that he “offered to resign” following the 3-0 loss to Cape Verde in May, but he has since brushed aside his disappointment and has restored belief in his own abilities to lead the national team through a positive Nations League campaign.

Ranked 40th in the world by FIFA, Serbia finished third in their League A group during the 2024-25 edition of the Nations League, beating Austria 3-1 on aggregate in the resulting promotion/relegation playoff.

The Eagles are now bidding to win their opening Nations League match for the first time since the inaugural tournament in 2018, as well as beat Greece on home turf for the first time, 16 years on from their 1-0 friendly loss in Belgrade.

Greece failed to qualify for a third successive World Cup this summer after finishing third in their four-team qualification group for the 2026 tournament behind Scotland and Denmark.

Two wins, one draw and three defeats were posted across their six matches, with a 3-2 home win over Scotland on matchday five followed by a goalless stalemate with Belarus in their final qualifier in November last year.

The Azure and White have since failed to come out on top in any of their four matches in 2026, with away draws in Hungary (0-0) and Sweden (2-2) sandwiched between narrow 1-0 home defeats to Paraguay and Italy, most losing to the latter in June.

Serbian-born head coach Ivan Jovanovic has had more joy with Greece in the Nations League, though, with his side climbing from League C to League A for the first time courtesy of back-to-back promotions. A 3-1 playoff win over Scotland in March last year secured their spot in the top division.

Ranked 46th in the world by FIFA, Greece lost their most recent meeting with Serbia (2-0 friendly defeat in November 2014), but they have only been beaten twice across their last 10 internationals (W5 D3) in all competitions, a run which includes a memorable 2-1 triumph over England at Wembley in October 2024.

Serbia form (all competitions):

Greece form (all competitions):

Team News

Serbia will be without Dusan Vlahovic, Nikola Milenkovic, Predrag Rajkovic and Aleksandar Mitrovic – the Nations League’s second-highest scorer in history with 15 goals – as they continue to recover from injuries.

However, 37-year-old Dusan Tadic has been selected for the first time since announcing his retirement after Euro 2024. The NEC Nijmegen playmaker is in contention to earn his 112th cap against Greece.

Almeria’s Stefan Dzodic and Vojvodina pair Petar Sukacev and Lazar Nikolic are all available to make their international debuts, while striker Luka Jovic and winger Andrija Zivkovic – who play their club football in Greece with AEK Athens and PAOK respectively – are both contenders to start.

As for Greece, Lazaros Rota, Dimitris Giannoulis and Giannis Konstantelias are all ruled out through injury, while former captain Tasos Bakasetas has been omitted from the squad along with Pantelis Hatzidiakos and Sotiris Kontouris.

Hull City goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis has made a bright start to life in the Premier League and will push Odysseas Vlachodimos for a start between the sticks, while Liverpool left-back Kostas Tsimikas and West Ham centre-back Konstantinos Mavropanos are both poised to start in defence.

Brighton’s Charalampos Kostoulas has four goal involvements in his last two Premier League appearances (two goals, two assists), but he is yet to score in four caps for Greece and will aim to end that drought on Thursday.

He could be joined in attack by Arsenal’s summer signing Christos Tzolis and NEOM’s Georgios Masouras, while talented teenagers Konstantinos Karetsas and Christos Mouzakitis are contenders to start in centre-midfield.

Serbia possible starting lineup:

V. Milinkovic-Savic; Nedeljkovic, Pavlovic, Erakovic, Bukinac; Lukic, S. Milinkovic-Savic; Zivkovic, Tadic, Kostic; Jovic

Greece possible starting lineup:

Vlachodimos; Mavropanos, Koulierakis, Restos; Vagiannidis, Mouzakitis, Kourbelis, Tsimikas; Masouras, Kostoulas, Tzolis

We say: Serbia 1-2 Greece

A closely-contested battle could be on the cards in Belgrade between two nations desperate to make an early statement, and Greece can take some comfort from the fact that the away side has prevailed in the previous two head-to-head meetings.

While Serbia are currently lacking their usual firepower up front, Greece are set to have several exciting players on show and that extra creative spark may help the visitors kick-start their campaign with a slender victory.