Dusan Tadic warns the Republic of Ireland that Serbia will not settle for a draw
Dusan Tadic has warned the Republic of Ireland that Serbia will not be happy with a just point from their opening World Cup qualifier this time around.
The Serbs welcome Stephen Kenny’s men to Belgrade on Wednesday evening as the Group A campaign gets under way, just as they did back in September 2016, when Daryl Murphy’s late equaliser secured a 2-2 draw for the visitors.
Serbia eventually made it to the finals in Russia as Group D winners, while the Republic went out to Denmark in the play-offs, but asked if he would settle for a repeat this time around, skipper Tadic told a press conference: “It’s a fact that the last qualifiers, we also kicked off against the Irish and we were losing that game, but we ended up with a draw and we did end up happy.
“But we want more this time, we are looking for the win.”
Head coach Dragan Stojkovic has made little secret of the fact that he believes Serbia should beat Ireland, but has been in football long enough to know games do not always work out as planned.
He said: “First of all, this is the first match and as such, is very difficult and very important at the same time, and there are no guarantees as to whether you are going to win or lose or whether it is going to be a draw, and this is what makes football an interesting game.
“You can be much better than the opponent, but not win and then again, it can be vice-versa, the opponent can be much better than you, but you can end up winning.
“We are focused on playing well and of course winning, if possible. If you were to ask me if I would be satisfied with a draw, of course I would not be satisfied with a draw.
“We are going to do everything we can to start these qualifiers with a win. But it’s not going to be an easy task, definitely.”
Ireland travelled to Belgrade without first-choice keeper Darren Randolph through injury and with Bournemouth’s Mark Travers, who was recently recalled from a loan spell at League One Swindon, in line to replace him.
But asked about the 21-year-old’s inclusion, Stojkovic said: “I have a lot of respect for the Irish team, but I’m not that much focused on who is going to be the goalkeeper. And a very good thing is that the goalkeeper isn’t going to be playing, he’s just going to be defending.”
Serbia vs Republic of Ireland - Match Preview
Dusan Tadic has warned the Republic of Ireland that Serbia will not be happy with a just point from their opening World Cup qualifier this time around.
The Serbs welcome Stephen Kenny’s men to Belgrade on Wednesday evening as the Group A campaign gets under way, just as they did back in September 2016, when Daryl Murphy’s late equaliser secured a 2-2 draw for the visitors.
Serbia eventually made it to the finals in Russia as Group D winners, while the Republic went out to Denmark in the play-offs, but asked if he would settle for a repeat this time around, skipper Tadic told a press conference: “It’s a fact that the last qualifiers, we also kicked off against the Irish and we were losing that game, but we ended up with a draw and we did end up happy.
“But we want more this time, we are looking for the win.”
Head coach Dragan Stojkovic has made little secret of the fact that he believes Serbia should beat Ireland, but has been in football long enough to know games do not always work out as planned.
He said: “First of all, this is the first match and as such, is very difficult and very important at the same time, and there are no guarantees as to whether you are going to win or lose or whether it is going to be a draw, and this is what makes football an interesting game.
“You can be much better than the opponent, but not win and then again, it can be vice-versa, the opponent can be much better than you, but you can end up winning.
“We are focused on playing well and of course winning, if possible. If you were to ask me if I would be satisfied with a draw, of course I would not be satisfied with a draw.
“We are going to do everything we can to start these qualifiers with a win. But it’s not going to be an easy task, definitely.”
Ireland travelled to Belgrade without first-choice keeper Darren Randolph through injury and with Bournemouth’s Mark Travers, who was recently recalled from a loan spell at League One Swindon, in line to replace him.
But asked about the 21-year-old’s inclusion, Stojkovic said: “I have a lot of respect for the Irish team, but I’m not that much focused on who is going to be the goalkeeper. And a very good thing is that the goalkeeper isn’t going to be playing, he’s just going to be defending.”
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