After an unexpected 0:1 defeat to Albania in the World Cup qualifiers, Serbia's head coach Dragan Stojković announced his resignation, UNN reports with reference to the BBC.
Details
Dragan Stojković resigned as head coach of the Serbian national team immediately after the 1:0 defeat to Albania in a World Cup qualifying match on Saturday.
The only goal in the match was scored by Rey Manaj, giving Albania the victory and leaving Serbia with a second consecutive defeat after last year's 0:5 thrashing by England. After this match, the Serbs are in third place in Group K: England leads with 15 points, Albania is second with 11.
Saturday's match against Albania was moved from the Serbian capital to the southern city of Leskovac due to security concerns related to ongoing political tensions between the countries. This defeat opens the door for England to secure early qualification for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico if they defeat Latvia on Tuesday in Riga.
Serbia's next match will be on Tuesday against Andorra.
I spoke with the president and the general secretary and submitted my resignation
Personally, I did not expect this defeat. I am a person who takes full responsibility and bears full responsibility
Addition
Dragan Stojković took over the Serbian national team in 2021 and led the team to the 2022 World Cup, where the Serbs finished last in their group, earning only one point in three matches.
Recall
The Ukrainian youth team lost to Serbia 0:1 in 2024, but took second place in the group.
Unai Melgosa, the coach of the Ukrainian youth football team, announced the names of the players who would be preparing for the upcoming matches in the Euro 2027 qualifiers. Among them was a match against Croatia.