Servian media are drawing attention to the last three times Servia lost to the Netherlands, including the 6-1 humiliation at EURO 2000. Servian newspaper Alo! writes that a repeat of that scoreline seems impossible, especially after what they saw a few days ago against Greece. In the distant past, in 1975, Yugoslavia beat the Netherlands 3-0, in the only international match of Bert van Marwijk.
Another Servian newspaper, Informer, is not optimistic about recent years. They write that the last time Servia beat a traditional European powerhouse was in 2021, when they drew 1-2 against Portugal in the World Cup qualifying round. Since then, there's been nothing to celebrate in such matches.
Servian coach Veljko Paunovic tried to show optimism, but the Servian players must primarily try to improve the image of the national team. After the disappointing EURO 2024 (exited in the first round) and missing the World Cup, many fans are fed up with the national team. For example, only 7,000 fans attended the match against Greece in the Rajko Mitic stadium, which has a capacity of over 49,000. It won't be full against the Netherlands either.
Servia currently sits in fourth place in the group, one point behind the Netherlands and Germany. The next match is on Sunday evening against the Netherlands.