From war to victory: Top 5 sporting victories from war-torn nations

Yugoslavia, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro

FILE PHOTO: The Serbian national team lining up for a Euro 2012 qualifier

Yugoslavia boasted a really good football team in the late eighties and early nineties and were considered dangerous opponents at international events.

Today the country does not exist while having undergone a long and arduous metamorphosis. The Serbian national team is recognized as the successor to that team after the country split into Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and Montenegro.

The civil war that ravaged the country between 1991-1999 meant that the country was banned from the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States and the 1996 European Championships in England.

The country qualified as Serbia & Montenegro at France’98 and made the Round of 16. They also reached the quarter-finals at Euro 2000.

Tragedy soon struck the nation again as there was another split that produced the two independent nations of Serbia and Montenegro with their respective football teams.

The split meant a disruption in the country’s football program and as a result, they did not qualify for the 2008 Euros in Austria and Switzerland.

They rebounded well though and qualified for the 2010 World Cup where they were represented as just Serbia.

Each of these splits left a huge dent in football from the region as it led to players being separated ever so frequently thanks to their changing nationalities and regional associations.