Serbia open their UEFA Nations League A campaign against Greece in Belgrade without Dušan Vlahović and Aleksandar Mitrović, leaving Veljko Paunović to reshape his attack on the night both of the side’s most established finishers are unavailable.
Vlahović withdraws after Beşiktaş match
Paunović confirmed at his pre-match media conference that Beşiktaş striker Vlahović will miss Thursday’s Group A2 opener at the Rajko Mitić Stadium (20:45 local / 21:45 Europe/Sofia). The forward contacted the coach after Beşiktaş’s recent league game, saying he had felt something in his calf; Serbia’s medical protocol followed and the national team received the report.
“We don’t like players getting injured, especially when they are in good form and scoring goals,” Paunović said, according to RTS. “It is a loss, but we have to turn to the people who are available to us. Our strikers are in very good form. They are scoring goals. They are capable of doing the job.”
Vlahović had been named in the Football Association of Serbia’s (FSS) 18 September squad for the four-match Nations League window. He will not feature against Greece after withdrawing from the gathering with the injury.
Mitrović already ruled out for the window
Captain Aleksandar Mitrović, Serbia’s all-time leading scorer, was already out of contention. Al-Rayyan reported in July that he had suffered a medial collateral ligament injury to his left knee in training and was expected to miss two to three months. RTS noted at the time that he would miss the September home games against Greece and the Netherlands and was unlikely for the early October trips to Germany and the Netherlands.
He was not restored to Paunović’s current squad. The result is a rare Nations League opening without either of Serbia’s long-time focal points up front.
Who leads the line against Greece
Paunović pointed to Luka Jović (AEK Athens), Dejan Joveljić (Seattle), Mihajlo Cvetković (Anderlecht) and Jovan Milošević (Braga) as the available attacking options, stressing that those forwards are in form and capable of doing the job in Vlahović’s absence.
The coach also highlighted the return of Dušan Tadić, back in the national setup for the first time since stepping away after Euro 2024. Paunović said Tadić’s presence had changed the atmosphere from the moment he arrived and stressed tactical flexibility across a four-match window that also includes home and away fixtures against the Netherlands and an away game in Germany.
Serbia and Greece both missed the 2026 World Cup and open League A Group 2 alongside Germany and the Netherlands. With Vlahović and Mitrović absent, Thursday’s Belgrade night becomes an early test of how Paunović’s attack functions without its usual reference points.