UEFA Nations League: The Holders Head to Serbia

Serbia vs Spain

European champions Spain open up their 2024-25 UEFA Nations League campaign on Thursday with a testing trip to Serbia.

And as defending champions of the Nations League too, La Roja are the team to beat in European football.

This match promises to be a fascinating encounter to kick off Group A4, and the Serbs will put up a fierce resistance. But at 32^nd place in the FIFA World Rankings, the hosts are 29 places below Spain.

Can the Serbs stop the Spaniard march? Well, if they do, they will be the first team in two years to avoid defeat in a competitive match against the mighty Roja.

 

Talking Points

A new Golden Era dawns for Spain

The UEFA Nations League 2024 betting odds make Spain one of the pre-tournament favourites of course, and at a price of 1.52 to beat Serbia, they should get off to a winning start.

And few would argue with those odds as head coach Luis de la Fuente has inherited and then moulded an incredibly gifted squad with UEFA Nations League 2024 highlights likely to come from any number of glittering stars.

Spain’s class of 2010 World Champions, and with European Championships in 2008 and 2012, those have long been held up as the best side in the nation’s history, but the current crop has a great chance to emulate them.

For a number of years, La Roja have been a functional team, competitive but not explosive, but now de la Fuente’s group has just about everything.

With Arsenal’s David Raya as the last line of defence in front of a centre-back pairing of Robin Le Normand and Aymeric Laporte, with Aston Villa’s Pau Torres in the mix too, this is a tough team to break down, but the headline grabbers tend to be further forward.

Captained by fourth top scorer of all time, Alvaro Morata and with wing sensations Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal writing the headlines at Euro 2024, this is a team which can tear apart any defence.

Barcelona’s summer signing Dani Olmo also had a superb European campaign, and his guile on the ball and ruthlessness in front of goal provide a constant threat.

And with a midfield anchored by Manchester City’s Rodri with Barcelona’s midfield ace Pedri back in the frame, this is a team designed and fully capable to dominate.

 

Jovic gets the nod for Serbia

Dragan Stojkovic has been at the helm of the Serbian national team for three years now, and despite an underwhelming showing at Euro 2024, exiting without a win, he has been given the task of leading the Serbs through the Nations League campaign.

He came under some criticism at the end of the Euros, as fans expected a better effort at negotiating a relatively tame group, but his team was hard to break down, conceding only twice. But then, they only scored once.

With a seemingly potent strike pair of all time top scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic and the gifted Dusan Vlahovic, this was a huge disappointment, as the pair showed a lack of understanding and, as a consequence, fired a sequence of blanks.

The head coach hopes to provide more cheer for the Serbian fans in the Nations League, and he has put his faith in AC Milan striker Luka Jovic. The 26-year-old had his best return at Eintracht Frankfurt where he scored 25 goals in 54 games, but he has since struggled to match that rate at Real Madrid and now Milan.

With 11 goals for Serbia, he is the main striker in Stojkovic’s team for this week, and the responsibility for goals rests on Jovic’s shoulders.

 

History

Spain won the only previous meeting between these two sides, a 2-0 victory in a friendly back in 2012. In terms of recent form, La Roja are much stronger, on a run of nine consecutive wins while Serbia have won two, drawn two, and lost two of the last six games.

Of course, La Roja are the defending champions in this tournament, having edged out Croatia on penalties in the 2023 final.

And while Spain lifted the Euro 2024 title, Serbia failed to get out of their group, losing 1-0 to England and drawing with both Slovenia and Denmark.

 

Betting Tip

At SBOTOP odds of 5.32 to win this opener, Serbia have a tough task, and a draw at 3.61 would be a good result for the hosts.

A 1-0 away win is the most likely outcome at odds of 5.41, while a 2-0 Spain victory is 6.28. But if you think the hosts can frustrate the European champions, a 1-1 draw is at 6.95, while a 0-0 stalemate is out at a price of 9.25.

   

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