Serbia lead Greece 1-0 as the second half begins in their UEFA Nations League Group A2 opener at the Stadion Rajko Mitic in Belgrade.
Ivan Jovanovic’s Greece returned to the top tier after gaining promotion from League B. The Pirate Ship was one of two teams to advance to League A via the promotion playoffs 18 months ago, with Turkey being the other promoted through that route.
Serbia defeated Austria over two legs to retain League A status. Veljko Paunovic’s side now competes in back-to-back top-tier campaigns. Neither Serbia nor Greece made the FIFA World Cup 2026, and each has points to prove at Rajko Mitic Stadium this week.
With Germany and the Netherlands widely expected to compete for the top two places in Group A2, the fixture carries special significance as Greece and Serbia hope to stay up. More than a decade has passed since these teams last met in November 2014, and it has been 16 years since Greece triumphed in its only previous visit to Serbia. Jovanovic’s men need to end a five-game winless streak to repeat that feat.
Serbia sits 40th in the FIFA rankings, while Greece arrives 46th. Paunovic’s side has won just one of its four friendlies in 2026, with Dusan Vlahovic leading the attack. Greece is winless in five games under Jovanovic but features Premier League stars Charalampos Kostoulas and Christos Tzolis.
In the first half, Serbia took a 1-0 lead. Greece pushed for a response. Charalampos Kostoulas had a right-footed shot from outside the box blocked, assisted by Christos Tzolis. Kostoulas also sent a header from the centre of the box missing to the left, assisted by Konstantinos Karetsas with a cross.
Serbia’s Andrija Zivkovic missed a left-footed shot from more than 35 yards to the left following a fast break. Greece won a corner, conceded by Vanja Milinkovic-Savic. Christos Tzolis forced a save from Vanja Milinkovic-Savic with a right-footed shot from outside the box, assisted by Christos Zafeiris. Another Tzolis effort from the left side of the box was blocked, assisted by Panagiotis Retsos.
Christos Zafeiris won a free kick in the defensive half after a foul by Filip Kostic. Konstantinos Karetsas fouled Filip Kostic, who won a free kick on the left wing. Vangelis Pavlidis missed a header from the centre of the box to the right, assisted by Kostas Tsimikas with a cross. Zafeiris then had a left-footed shot from outside the box blocked. Serbia won a corner, conceded by Panagiotis Retsos.
Luka Jovic missed a right-footed shot from the centre of the box too high, assisted by Strahinja Pavlovic. The first half ended Serbia 1, Greece 0. The fourth official announced one minute of added time.
Konstantinos Mavropanos fouled Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, who won a free kick in the attacking half. Both managers set up in a 4-4-2 formation.
At the start of the second half, Serbia made a substitution. Sasa Lukic replaced Mihajlo Cvetkovic.
