European Championship qualification
Despite a draw: Serbia gets a ticket in the long-distance duel with Montenegro
Serbia’s Milos Veljkovic (r) celebrates his goal for the 1-0 lead. photo
© Darko Vojinovic/AP
Despite a draw in the exciting group final, Serbia qualified as the 17th team for next year’s European Football Championship in Germany.
The team led by former Frankfurt Bundesliga professional Filip Kostic did not get past a 2-2 (1-0) draw against winless Bulgaria in Leskovac at home. Nevertheless, Serbia came second in Group G in the long-distance duel with Montenegro, which lost 1:3 (1:0) to leaders Hungary in Budapest at the same time.
Werder Bremen’s Milos Veljkovic (16th minute) gave Serbia the lead. In the second half, Geogi Rusew (59′) and Kiril Despodow (69′) initially turned the game in favor of the bottom team, before Srdjan Babic saved a point for the hosts with his goal in the 82nd minute. This is Serbia’s first participation in the European Championship as an independent country.
In Budapest, Dominik Szoboszlai was the winner of the game. With a brace in the 66th and 68th minutes, the former Leipzig player secured a flattering victory for Hungary, who had already qualified for the European Championships, after Slobodan Rubezic (36th) had put the guests in front. Adam Nagy (90+3) scored the third Hungarian goal in stoppage time. With a win and Serbia’s defeat at the same time, Montenegro would have secured its ticket to the European Championship.