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Benfica midfielder Nemanja Matic has been recalled by his volatile national team boss Sinisa Mihajlovic for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against fierce Balkan rivals Croatia and Gareth Bale‘s Wales.
The talented 25-year-old former Chelsea player has been capped five times by Serbia but last appeared for his country in June 2012 having fallen out with Mihajlovic who did not have Matic in his plans in the previous games.
Yet, the pressure has been mounting on Sinisa Mihajlovic to test out players who are performing well enough for their respective clubs and bringing back Matic is a sign of desperation from a man who knows a defeat in the so-called ‘home derby’ against Croatia in Belgrade on Friday could spell the end of his reign as the Serbian manager.
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“I spoke to all the lads playing for Benfica and I was particularly happy to meet up with Matic,” Mihajlovic told a news conference on Sunday after naming his 25-man squad.
Furthermore, the Serbs have found it extremely difficult to score goals in the qualifying campaign so far with their midfield coming up short on so many occasions. Having Nemanja Matic in the line up should give Igor Stimac and his Croatia outfit some food for thought in Belgrade.
Having lost the reverse fixture in Zagreb 2-0 back in March, Serbia know anything less than three points against their arch rivals would hurt Serbian pride severely particularly when the White Eagles are out of reckoning for a berth in next June’s World Cup in Brazil.
Serbia have accumulated a disappointing seven points from seven games, nine behind Croatia and twelve off group leaders Belgium.
They need to win all their matches to have the slimmest of chances for a play-off spot and for that to happen, Sinisa Mihajlovic needs the industrious services of Nemanja Matic and his impressive 19-year-old Benfica team-mate and forward Lazar Markovic.
Markovic has already caught the eye across Europe scoring two goals in two matches for Benfica in the Portuguese Superliga, the last one being a magical strike against Sporting Lisbon in Saturday’s derby draw at Sporting Lisbon.
“Markovic is one of our key players because he gives us so many options up front and is more versatile than any other forward in our ranks,” said Mihajlovic.
“He has started to find the back of the net too since his summer move to Benfica from Partizan Belgrade and we are relying on him because he has the ability to create at least three or four clear-cut chances for himself in every match he plays,” Mihajlovic was quoted as saying.
Sinisa Mihajlovic is a legend in Yugoslav and Serbian football but sometimes his passion for the game gets over his emotions. The former Fiorentina manager has tried to up the ante prior to a big international week calling on his fellow Serbs to support their team tooth and nail come Friday in Belgrade.
