European Qualifiers, Serbia 2-4 Portugal: 5 Talking Points and Tactical Analysis

#3 Serbia’s toothless attack and leaky defence a real cause for concern

Serbia couldn't get going on Saturday

Before the game against Portugal, the Serbians had accumulated 4 points from 3 games, having conceded 7 goals and scored 5. Thus, their record portrayed them as a team boasting a shaky defence and an offensive line-up that had scored against relative minnows.

And, after the match, a lot of weight was lent to those deductions.

For large parts of the encounter, the hosts looked clueless in the offensive third and lacked imagination. Though Dusan Tadic kept buzzing around in between the lines, the lack of forward runners meant that the Ajax forward had to either pass backwards or sideways.

In addition, the Serbians illustrated themselves to be a one-trick pony with all of their attacking moves concentrating on Mitrovic’s hold-up play.

While the striker is capable of turning in accomplished displays, expecting a forward as enigmatic as him to produce the goods in clutch games might just prove to be too optimistic a belief.

However, the hosts’ woes in attack represent just a fraction of the problem currently engulfing them.

On Saturday, Serbia’s defence looked all over the place with none of their defenders looking comfortable in 1v1 situations.

The first goal was conceded courtesy a misunderstanding between Dmitrovic and Milenkovic while Nikola Maksimovic got too tight to Guedes for the second goal. Both of those decisions allowed the Portuguese attackers to get the better of their continental counterparts easily, thereby resulting in goal-scoring chances.

The fourth goal was shipped when the home side left the back door open, in their search for a potential equaliser.

Guerreiro was accorded the time and the space to find Bernardo unmarked in the box and the latter compounded Serbia’s misery with a wonderful near-post finish.

At this juncture, the Serbians look unlikely to qualify for the European Championships directly, courtesy their deficiencies and their meagre points tally. Thus, the play-offs represent their only route to the competition.

However, even if they make it to the play-offs, they need to considerably improve upon their attack and defence. Else, they could miss out on the continent’s biggest party altogether.