Serbia national football team are to assemble on Monday in Kovilovo training facility in order to prepare for the two upcoming friendly matches – against Northern Ireland in Belfast (14 November) and South Korea in London (18 November). Serbia coach Radomir Antic has already been forced to amend the roster twice as goalkeeper Zeljko Brkic (Vojvodina) and Ivica Dragutinovic (Sevilla) have both pulled out through virus and injury respectively. The pair have been replaced by Nenad Tomovic (Genoa) and Jagos Vukovic (PSV Eindhoven).
Antic has opted not to replace Brkic with another goalkeeper, so Serbia’s last line of defence in the UK tour will be Vladimir Stojkovic and Bojan Isailovic. Brkic has had high temperature over the past couple of days and did not train, so the Serbia medical team decided it would be best for the keeper to stay in Novi Sad.
Dragutinovic has not been ruled out for the trip to the UK, although he remains doubtful for inclusion. The Sevilla officials have notified the Serbian FA the national team’s left-back felt pain in a muscle on Thursday and was consequently forced to miss last night’s match against Villarreal and is sure to miss the forthcoming King’s Cup tie on Tuesday.
Nenad Tomovic and Jagos Vukovic both appeared for Serbia at the U21 European Championships in Sweden and have earned their chance to appear for the senior team. The Genoa defender has already been called up for Serbia’s trip to Turkey and South Africa, while this will be the PSV player’s first inclusion in the senior team.
PSV Eindhoven forward Danko Lazovic is back with the team after suspension, while Vladimir Disljenkovic (Metalurg) and Ivan Obradovic (Zaragoza) were earlier ruled out through injury.
