Serbia vs Norway

Serbia and Norway will kickstart their 2022/23 UEFA Nations League Group B4 campaign at the Rajko Mitić Stadium in Belgrade.

After pulling off a dream comeback to leapfrog Portugal to the top place in a highly competitive 2022 World Cup qualifying Group A, Serbia delivered a mixed bag of performances in their last two outings (W1, L1). Despite qualifying for back-to-back World Cup finals for the first time as an independent country, Dragan Stojkovic’s men still have a point to prove. Serbia avoided relegation back into Group C in the last Nations League edition, courtesy of a goal difference alone, having won just one of their six fixtures (D3, L2). There’s a question mark over Serbia’s current mental health as a morale-crushing 3-0 defeat to Denmark back in March halted their eye-catching eight-game unbeaten international streak (W7, D1). Yet, the ‘Eagles’ can draw confidence from winning their last three home internationals by an aggregate score of 11-2.

In the meantime, Norway may have won both international friendlies in March by an aggregate score of 11-0, but another failed attempt to qualify for the World Cup finals still hurts. Norway’s sublime showings in 2022 could come in handy as they hope to use the Nations League as a potential springboard to halt an exhausting 22-year wait for a place in major tournament finals. After picking up more points on the road than at home during the 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign, the ‘Lions’ will look to avenge a 2-1 Nations League defeat against Serbia in October 2020. With three clean sheets from their five away 2022 World Cup qualifiers (W3, D1, L1), the Norwegians could be forgiven for counting on another stubborn defensive display.