Serbia have looked nowhere near as effective as a squad bristling with quality individual footballers suggests they could be, yet a last-gasp equaliser on Thursday boosted their chances of making the last-16 at the European Championship.
Substitute Luka Jovic, one of 13 players in the Serbia squad from a club in either England, Germany, Italy or Spain, rose to head home with the last touch to secure a dramatic 1-1 draw with Slovenia in Munich and avoid a second Group C defeat at the tournament in Germany.
But it was a far from convincing, denying Slovenia a first ever win at the Euros and what would have been a near certain place in the last-16.
Instead Slovenia are having to make do with two points, given they finish their group schedule against England in Cologne on Tuesday, while Serbia can still turn around their fortunes when they meet Denmark at the same time, playing in Munich again.
Serbia deny Slovenia a first-ever EUROs win with the final touch of the match! 😅
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) June 20, 2024
🇸🇮 #SLOSRB 🇷🇸 #EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/TsYUvm2IgE
But for a brief spell in their opening game against England in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday, and one or two attacking moments on Thursday, the Serbs have come nowhere close to their pre-tournament billing.
With the likes of Juventus’s Dusan Vlahovic, the free scoring Aleksandar Mitrovic and Jovic, now at AC Milan after playing for Real Madrid, Serbia had the potential to be spoilers.
Or still have ... thanks to Jovic’s goal, which now means that victory over the Danes could put them through to the knockout stage even if they finished third in the group.
It would require, however, a major shift in approach after two games in which they have been largely outplayed, notably by a well-set up Slovenia side who were looking good value for victory until Jovic’s headed goal.
It has been surprising that the Serbian side mirrors little of the innovation and style that was a hallmark of the career of their coach Dragan Stojkovic. He was a ball-playing maestro in his day, captaining Yugoslavia at the 1998 World Cup and winning the Champions League with Olympique de Marseille.
Serbia have a long tradition of inventive and dapper players but current playmaker Dusan Tadic, 35, struggled to impose himself on Thursday, after Stokjkovic perhaps tellingly left him out of the starting line-up against England.
Mitrovic still looks dangerous but his predatory skills might have been blunted after leaving the Premier League and the tournament is waiting to see what Vlahovic has to offer. He combined power and technic to finish second in Serie A’s goal scoring charts over the last term, but was substituted on Thursday after an ineffective showing.
For all this, Serbia still have every chance of moving on in the tournament, even if their start has been tepid and uninspired.