Serbia’s manager Dragan Stojković told reporters today that his bench players may be even more important than the starting eleven in tomorrow’s crunch group C fixture against Denmark.
The Serbs are currently bottom of Group C with a single point from their draw with Slovenia. They are highly unlikely to progress without a win tomorrow night.
What did Dragan Stojković say?
Embed from Getty ImagesStojković admitted that being slow to get started has been a problem for his team: “That’s one of the issues that we are working on.
“Once we grasp the game and we have full control of the ball things change drastically.
“We’re going to try and improve those things as much as we can.”
Despite the difficult task ahead, he said: “We are in a good mood, why would we not be?
“There is a great match ahead of us. I think we should all be very positive when it comes to that.
“Denmark are a really strong side. They have excellent players. They’re a very tough side. They haven’t won but also haven’t lost in two games. That means they’re an organised team who sacrifice a lot on the pitch. It’s going to be very hard, but now it’s time to change [our record against them]. We’ll do our best to have a good game.”
Stojković was asked specifically about Christian Eriksen. “He has made a mark in his career. I’m really glad that he’s here, that he’s playing. I would like to see him on the bench because he’s a very dangerous player, he knows what to do with the ball. He’s very precise with a really powerful shot. If he’s going to start, we have to take good care of him.”
He spoke of his own team’s strengths too: “I think that we seem very well organised, we are a team and I believe that every single player gives his own contribution to the team and to me that is an important element.
Asked whether a particular Serbian player had stood out to him so far, Stojković highlighted their collective effort.
“I see our players as part of one single team and in the last couple of years we do push or this behaviour and thinking and that is the belief – that it’s the team that loses or wins. It’s not fair to talk about the individuals.
“We have all been concentrating on the fact that the team was always and will remain the most important part of our game.
“Maybe someone is going to try to influence this harmony and unity but we are not going to let this in.”
He said: “We’ve played two games in a very good manner. We did very well against England and Slovenia. I hope our third game is going to be the same in terms of efficiency, but I also hope we’ll end up winning.”
When asked about his team selection for tomorrow, Stojković said: “We need to think about who starts and who stays on the bench, and what can we do to bring the match into the stream that we want it to be?
“In today’s football the bench is so important… even sometimes more so than the ones that start from the very beginning.”
Finally, the coach reflected on the importance of tomorrow’s game – particularly, he said, as this year is the first time Serbia has competed at the Euros as an independent country.
“Nobody can dispute that the players are trying their best to get the possible result. Of course, the EURO has the best possible teams and football at a very high level. It’s our most important match in the group, as it’s the match that decides our future at this tournament.
“We do not underestimate them but we do believe at the same time that since we are here we can play against Denmark.
“I strongly believe [the players] will be ready for 9pm tomorrow to have a really good game.”