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Montenegro national football team

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 178.220.55.210 (talk) at 12:08, 12 April 2022. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Montenegro women's national football team.

Montenegro
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Hrabri sokoli / Храбри соколи
(The Brave Falcons)
AssociationФудбалски савез Црне Горе (ФСЦГ)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachMiodrag Radulović
CaptainStevan Jovetić
Most capsFatos Bećiraj (85)
Top scorerStevan Jovetić (31)
Home stadiumPodgorica City Stadium
FIFA codeMNE
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 75 Decrease 1 (24 October 2024)[1]
Highest16 (June 2011)
Lowest199 (June 2007)
First international
 Montenegro 2–1 Hungary 
(Podgorica, Montenegro; 24 March 2007)
Biggest win
 San Marino 0–6 Montenegro 
(Serravalle, San Marino; 11 September 2012)
Biggest defeat
 England 7–0 Montenegro 
(London, England; 14 November 2019)

The Montenegro national football team (Template:Lang-cnr) has represented Montenegro in international football since 2007. It is controlled by the Football Association of Montenegro, the governing body for football in Montenegro. Montenegro's home ground is Podgorica City Stadium in Podgorica.

Montenegro is one of the world's youngest international teams, having joined FIFA and UEFA in 2007, following the restoration of Montenegrin independence in 2006. Montenegro played its first official international match against Hungary in March 2007, and competed in their first FIFA World Cup qualifiers in 2010.

History

Formation

Montenegro national team squad in EURO 2020 qualifiers

Following the independence of Montenegro from Serbia and Montenegro, Serbia was set to represent both Serbia and Montenegro in the Euro 2008 qualifying stage. UEFA, however, would be willing to include Montenegro as a late entry if FIFA ratified a separate Montenegrin Football Association before September 2006. However, this did not occur before the competition began.[3]
In October 2006, Montenegro was granted provisional membership of UEFA, with a debate regarding full membership scheduled at a full UEFA Congress in January 2007.[4] Montenegro's first FIFA World Ranking was joint 199th place, the last place on the list by default.

First matches

Mirko Vučinić was the first captain of Montenegro

On 26 January 2007, the Montenegro FA was granted full membership of UEFA.[5] The team played its first FIFA-recognized friendly match against Hungary on 24 March 2007 at Stadion Pod Goricom in Podgorica. Montenegro won 2–1 in front of 12,000 spectators. Striker Mirko Vučinić scored the country's first goal in the 62nd minute.[6][7] On 31 May 2007, Montenegro was admitted as FIFA's 208th member.[8]
Montenegro's first coach was Zoran Filipović. In 23 matches, Filipović recorded eight victories, eight draws and seven defeats. He left in January 2010 when his contract expired. During his tenure, Montenegro rose to 73rd position in the FIFA rankings.
Montenegro played at the 2007 Kirin Cup, but finished in last place behind Japan and Colombia.
On 26 March 2008, Montenegro recorded one of its best results with a 3–1 win over Norway.

First competitive matches

On 6 September 2008, Montenegro played their first World Cup qualifier against Bulgaria at the Podgorica City Stadium. Bulgaria took the lead in the 11th minute with a goal from Stiliyan Petrov. Mirko Vučinić scored in the 61st minute to tie the game, before Igor Burzanović put Montenegro ahead 82nd minute from a penalty. However, a last-minute equalizer from Blagoy Georgiev denied Montenegro their first competitive win. In their next match on 10 September, they achieved another notable result when they held the Republic of Ireland to a 0–0 draw.
Another near-upset came in a narrow 2–1 loss against Italy. After Alberto Aquilani's early strike, Vučinić quickly equalized, but Aquilani scored the winning goal ten minutes later. Their second match against Italy ended 2–0 in favour of the world champions. Another disappointment came when the team could only draw 0–0 against Georgia, followed by a 2–2 draw against Cyprus after being two goals down. On 5 September 2009, Montenegro took an early lead against Bulgaria in Sofia with Stevan Jovetić putting them 1–0 up, only for Bulgaria to recover and win 4–1. After drawing 1–1 with Cyprus, Montenegro finally registered their first competitive win, beating Georgia 2–1. They then drew 0–0 with the Republic of Ireland at Croke Park. They finished fifth in the group with nine points, below Cyprus on goal difference.

Golden era

During the UEFA Euro 2012 qualification campaign, the team recorded further success. They opened their campaign with a 1–0 victory over Wales; Mirko Vučinić scored the only goal. A few days later, the team defeated Bulgaria 1–0 in Sofia. The next month, they beat Switzerland 1–0 and then recorded a 0–0 draw in London against England. On 4 June 2011, Montenegro drew 1–1 against Bulgaria, with Radomir Đalović scoring for Montenegro early in the second half, but Ivelin Popov scoring minutes later, to keep Montenegro second in the group, behind England on goal difference.
Montenegro were beaten 2–1 by Wales in Cardiff. They were still second in Group G, but Switzerland closed the gap between them to only three points.
In the June 2011 FIFA rankings, Montenegro recorded their highest ranking of 16th.
On 7 October, Montenegro came back from 2–0 down to draw 2–2 against England in Podgorica, after Wayne Rooney was sent off. Wales beat Switzerland 2–0 to ensure Montenegro won a play-off place, putting the team two matches away from qualifying for Euro 2012. In their last match in the qualifiers, Montenegro lost 2–0 to Switzerland in Basel. On 13 October, the draw for the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying play-offs was held in Kraków, Poland. Montenegro were paired with the Czech Republic, but they lost 3–0 on aggregate and failed to qualify.
Montenegro were drawn in Group H in the qualifiers, along with England, Poland, Ukraine, Moldova and San Marino.
In their first match, Montenegro tied against Poland in a 2–2 draw. On 11 September, Montenegro played against San Marino in Seravalle. In a one-sided match, Montenegro won 6–0,[9] the biggest win in the team's history. Montenegro then beat Ukraine 1–0 in Kyiv,[10] with the only goal scored by Dejan Damjanović. In their last match in 2012, Montenegro faced San Marino in Podgorica on 14 November, and won 3–0.
Montenegro played their fifth qualifier match against Moldova in Chișinău on 22 March 2013, winning 1–0 through Mirko Vučinić's goal. Montenegro then returned to Podgorica to play the second-placed England. The outcome was a 1–1 draw.
Leading their World Cup qualifying group, Montenegro hosted Ukraine on 7 June 2013. They suffered their first defeat in the group, losing 4–0. The match also saw Montenegro finish the match with nine men after Vladimir Volkov and Savo Pavićević were sent off. Their last four matches yielded just a single point; a 1–1 draw in Poland. Their 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign finished with a 5–2 home defeat to Moldova, and they finished third behind England and Ukraine.

Ups and downs

On 23 February 2014 in Nice, Montenegro were drawn for qualification in UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group G alongside Russia, Sweden, Austria, Moldova and Liechtenstein. Though they opened their campaign with a 2–0 win over Moldova, they failed to qualify with a 0–0 tie against Liechtenstein, a 1–0 loss to Austria and a 1–1 tie at home to Sweden.
On 27 March 2015, Montenegro's home match against Russia was abandoned after 67 minutes due to crowd violence, after the Russian left-back Dmitri Kombarov was hit by a projectile. The score was 0–0 and Russia had missed a penalty moments before the match was abandoned. The Russian goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev was hit by a flare, causing a second 33-minute delay.[11] The abandoned match was ruled a 3–0 win in Russia's favour.
Montenegro finished fourth at the end of the campaign and placed 95th on the FIFA ranking list.
Montenegro participated in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification and were placed with Poland, Denmark, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Romania. Poland and Romania had been participants in the UEFA Euro 2016, but Montenegro began by drawing 1–1 away to Romania, beating Kazakhstan 5–0 at home and defeating Denmark 1–0. However, they then lost 3–2 away to Armenia despite leading 2–0, and were defeated 2–1 at home by Poland. Montenegro then rebounded, beating Armenia 4–1 and Kazakhstan 3–0. They later eliminated Romania with a 1–0 victory, but losses to the Danes and Poles ended Montenegro's chance of qualifying.
Having failed to reach the World Cup, Montenegro had a dismal performance in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League C. The team was grouped with Serbia, Romania and Lithuania. Montenegro only managed two victories, all against Lithuania, and suffered two losses to Serbia, one defeat to Romania at home and an away draw to the Romanian side as well. This effectively denied Montenegro a chance to qualify to the UEFA Euro 2020 playoff.

Worst campaign

The Euro 2020 qualifiers for Montenegro have been the worst in the team's short history. After an unsuccessful Nations League campaign, the team started off with a 1–1 away draw to Bulgaria, following a controversial penalty for the hosts. It was followed with a 1–5 loss at home to England despite having taken an early lead.
On the day of the match with Kosovo, Serbian coach Ljubiša Tumbaković and two players originated from Serbia, due to political reasons, abandoned the national team, betraying the squad in unprecedented condition before the two crucial matches for qualifiers. Montenegro managed to avoid defeat against Kosovo (1-1), however they lost to Czech Republic 0–3. The same result occurred in the rematch, one month later. With no chances to qualify directly, Montenegro failed to win the match against last placed Bulgaria (0-0), and lost to Kosovo (0-2).
At the end of their worst campaign, Montenegro suffered the biggest defeat in history. On 14 November 2019, they were defeated against England in London 7–0.
Not only did they finish the qualifying campaign without a single victory, Montenegro managed to score only three goals in eight matches, but conceded 22. Also, throughout the entire qualifying campaign the team had troubles with injuries to key players, most notably Stevan Jovetić and Stefan Savić.

Comeback

The team topped the group in 2020-21 UEFA Nations League above Luxembourg, Azerbaijan and Cyprus and were promoted into League B. They were also important team in fight to qualify for 2022 FIFA World Cup. They were 4th of 6 teams in group with Netherlands, Turkey, Norway, Latvia and Gibraltar.

Stadium and facilities

Main article: Podgorica City Stadium

Montenegro play home matches at the Podgorica City Stadium (Template:Lang-cnr). The stadium's capacity is 15,230, but international matches reduce this to between 10,700 and 13,000.

Camp FSCG

Main article: Camp FSCG

The Football Association of Montenegro owns Camp FSCG, a Montenegrin training ground. Built in 2007, the centre has a total area of 54,000 square metres.[12] It is located on Ćemovsko polje, a plain located in the outskirts of Podgorica outskirts between the settlements of Stari Aerodrom and Konik. It consists of six pitches with stands and floodlights,[13] and House of Football – the seat of the Football Association of Montenegro.[14]

The camp currently represents an important asset for the whole Montenegrin football system. The grounds are home to all Montenegrin national teams (men and women) and numerous local teams from Podgorica. CAMP FSCG meets the criteria for Montenegrin First League games and UEFA competitions for young players.

Team image

Montenegrin supporters

Nickname

Under the official FIFA Trigramme, the team’s name is abbreviated as MNE, which is also the country's ISO 3166-1 code. The team's nickname is "The Brave Falcons" (Template:Lang-cnr).

Kits and colours

Montenegro's traditional home colours are red, with a gold trim. This reflects the country's flag. The team's away kits have usually been white, with a red trim.

The current kit is produced by the Italian company Legea.

Manufacturer Period
Serbia daCapo 2007–2008
Italy Legea 2008–present

Supporters

At competitive matches, the Montenegrin home ground Podgorica City Stadium is often filled to capacity. The stadium is regarded as too small to meet the needs of the national team. Demand for the World Cup qualifier against Italy in 2009 was 30,000 tickets; 40,000 for the Euro 2012 qualifying match against England in 2011.

Montenegro's loudest and most loyal supporters are named Ultra Crna Gora (Ултра Црна Гора; Ultra Montenegro). As an ultras group, their support consists of standing up and singing for 90 minutes both home and away. They occupy the north and south stands of Podgorica City Stadium. Choreography is usually performed at the beginning of games. Ultra Crna Gora consists of many subgroups, mostly named after Podgorica's neighborhoods and Montenegrin towns in other parts of the country.

Results and fixtures

Main article: Montenegro national football team results

2021

2 June 2021 (2021-06-02) FIFA International Friendly Bosnia and Herzegovina  0–0  Montenegro Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
18:00 Report Stadium: Stadion Grbavica
Referee: Novak Simović (Serbia)
5 June 2021 (2021-06-05) FIFA International Friendly Montenegro  1–3  Israel Podgorica, Montenegro
20:45 (20:45 UTC+2)
Report
Report (UEFA)
Stadium: Podgorica City Stadium
Attendance: 860[15]
Referee: Irfan Peljto (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
1 September 2021 (2021-09-01) 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Turkey  2–2  Montenegro Istanbul, Turkey
20:45
Report (FIFA)[dead link]
Report (UEFA)
Stadium: Vodafone Park
Referee: Benoît Bastien (France)
4 September 2021 (2021-09-04) 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Netherlands  4–0  Montenegro Eindhoven, Netherlands
20:45
Report (FIFA)[dead link]
Report (UEFA)		 Stadium: Philips Stadion
Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano (Spain)
7 September 2021 (2021-09-07) 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Montenegro  0–0  Latvia Podgorica, Montenegro
20:45 Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)		 Stadium: Podgorica City Stadium
Referee: Harm Osmers (Germany)
8 October 2021 (2021-10-08) 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Gibraltar  0–3  Montenegro Gibraltar, Gibraltar
20:45 Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Stadium: Victoria Stadium
Referee: Filip Glova (Slovakia)
11 October 2021 (2021-10-11) 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Norway  2–0  Montenegro Oslo, Norway
20:45
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)		 Stadium: Ullevaal Stadion
Referee: István Kovács (Romania)
13 November 2021 (2021-11-13) 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Montenegro  2–2  Netherlands Podgorica, Montenegro
20:45
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Stadium: Podgorica City Stadium
Referee: Carlos del Cerro Grande (Spain)
16 November 2021 (2021-11-16) 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Montenegro  1–2  Turkey Podgorica, Montenegro
20:45
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Stadium: Podgorica City Stadium
Referee: Daniel Siebert (Germany)

2022

24 March 2022 (2022-03-24) Friendly Armenia  1–0  Montenegro Yerevan, Armenia
17:00 Bichakhchyan 19' Report Stadium: Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Latvia Andris Treimanis
28 March 2022 (2022-03-28) Friendly Montenegro  1–0  Greece Podgorica, Montenegro
20:00 Osmajić 59' Report Stadium: Podgorica City Stadium
Referee: Fran Jovic (Croatia)
4 June 2022 (2022-06-04) 2022-23 UEFA Nations League Montenegro  v  Romania Podgorica, Montenegro
20:45 UTC+2 Report Stadium: Podgorica City Stadium
7 June 2022 (2022-06-07) 2022-23 UEFA Nations League Finland  v  Montenegro Finland
21:45 UTC+3 Report
11 June 2022 (2022-06-11) 2022-23 UEFA Nations League Montenegro  v  Bosnia and Herzegovina Podgorica, Montenegro
15:00 UTC+2 Report Stadium: Podgorica City Stadium
14 June 2022 (2022-06-14) 2022-23 UEFA Nations League Romania  v  Montenegro Bucharest, Romania
21:45 UTC+3 Report Stadium: Stadionul Steaua
23 September 2022 (2022-09-23) 2022-23 UEFA Nations League Bosnia and Herzegovina  v  Montenegro Bosnia and Herzegovina
20:45 UTC+2 Report
26 September 2022 (2022-09-26) 2022-23 UEFA Nations League Montenegro  v  Finland Finland
20:45 UTC+2

Coaching staff

Position Name
Head coach Montenegro Miodrag Radulović
Assistant coach Montenegro Miodrag Džudović
Goalkeeping coach Montenegro Dragoje Leković

Coaching history

Manager Career Played Won Draw Lost GF GA Win %
Montenegro Zoran Filipović 2006–2009 23 8 8 7 28 31 34.78%
Croatia Zlatko Kranjčar 2010–2011 13 6 2 5 14 11 46.15%
Montenegro Branko Brnović 2011–2015 34 11 9 14 44 50 32.35%
Serbia Ljubiša Tumbaković 2016–2019 26 7 7 12 33 33 26.92%
Montenegro Miodrag Džudović 2019 (acting) 2 0 1 1 1 4 00.00%
Bosnia and Herzegovina Faruk Hadžibegić 2019–2020 13 5 4 4 13 16 38.46%
Montenegro Miodrag Radulović 2020–present 12 4 2 6 12 15 33.33%

Players

In international football, players can normally only play for one national team once they play in all or part of any match recognised as a full international by FIFA. However, an exception is made in cases where one or more newly independent states are created out of a former state. Based on current FIFA rules, a player will be eligible to play for Montenegro, even if he had previously represented Serbia and Montenegro or any other country, if at least one of the following statements applies:[16]

  • The player was born in Montenegro;
  • At least one of their parents and/or at least one of their grandparents was born in Montenegro;
  • The player has lived in Montenegro continuously for any five-year period.

Due to mixed ancestries, it is likely that a high percentage of the players eligible to play for Montenegro will also remain eligible to play for Serbia, and vice versa. However, once they have played for either Serbia or Montenegro in any competitive fixture, they are no longer eligible to play for any other nation.

Current squad

The following players were called up for games against Armenia and Greece on 24 and 28 March 2022.[17]

Caps and goals as of 28 March 2022, after the match against Greece.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Milan Mijatović (1987-07-26) 26 July 1987 (age 37) 23 0 Hungary MTK
12 1GK Danijel Petković (1993-05-25) 25 May 1993 (age 31) 23 0 France Angers
13 1GK Lazar Carević (1999-03-16) 16 March 1999 (age 25) 1 0 Spain Barcelona B
15 2DF Stefan Savić (1991-01-08) 8 January 1991 (age 33) 62 5 Spain Atlético Madrid
6 2DF Žarko Tomašević (1990-02-22) 22 February 1990 (age 34) 51 5 Kazakhstan Tobol
23 2DF Adam Marušić (1992-10-17) 17 October 1992 (age 32) 46 2 Italy Lazio
7 2DF Marko Vešović (1991-08-28) 28 August 1991 (age 33) 39 2 Azerbaijan Qarabağ
3 2DF Risto Radunović (1992-05-04) 4 May 1992 (age 32) 19 1 Romania FCSB
5 2DF Igor Vujačić (1994-08-08) 8 August 1994 (age 30) 19 0 Serbia Partizan
22 2DF Nikola Šipčić (1995-05-17) 17 May 1995 (age 29) 2 0 Spain Tenerife
2 2DF Meldin Drešković (1998-03-26) 26 March 1998 (age 26) 1 0 Montenegro Sutjeska Nikšić
4 3MF Nikola Vukčević (1991-12-13) 13 December 1991 (age 32) 47 1 Spain Levante
9 3MF Marko Janković (1995-07-09) 9 July 1995 (age 29) 32 1 Israel Hapoel Tel Aviv
20 3MF Milutin Osmajić (1999-07-25) 25 July 1999 (age 25) 12 1 Turkey Bandırmaspor
19 3MF Miloš Raičković (1993-10-02) 2 October 1993 (age 31) 11 0 Montenegro Budućnost Podgorica
21 3MF Marko Vukčević (1993-06-07) 7 June 1993 (age 31) 9 0 Romania UTA Arad
14 3MF Novica Eraković (1999-11-12) 12 November 1999 (age 24) 2 0 Montenegro Sutjeska Nikšić
16 3MF Nikola Janjić (2002-07-14) 14 July 2002 (age 22) 1 0 Montenegro Sutjeska Nikšić
10 4FW Stevan Jovetić (captain) (1989-11-02) 2 November 1989 (age 35) 63 31 Germany Hertha BSC
18 4FW Uroš Đuranović (1994-02-01) 1 February 1994 (age 30) 2 0 Serbia Kolubara
8 4FW Nikola Krstović (2000-04-05) 5 April 2000 (age 24) 1 0 Slovakia DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda
11 4FW Marko Rakonjac (2001-04-25) 25 April 2001 (age 23) 1 0 Serbia Čukarički
17 4FW Balša Sekulić (1998-06-10) 10 June 1998 (age 26) 0 0 Montenegro Iskra Danilovgrad

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called on the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Matija Sarkic (1997-07-23) 23 July 1997 (age 27) 5 0 England Wolverhampton Wanderers v.  Turkey, 16 November 2021
GK Jasmin Agović (1991-02-13) 13 February 1991 (age 33) 0 0 Montenegro Rudar Pljevlja v.  Turkey, 16 November 2021
GK Miloš Dragojević (1989-02-03) 3 February 1989 (age 35) 2 0 Montenegro Budućnost v.  Norway, 11 October 2021
DF Marko Simić (1987-06-16) 16 June 1987 (age 37) 50 2 Latvia Liepāja v.  Turkey, 16 November 2021
DF Dušan Lagator (1994-03-29) 29 March 1994 (age 30) 9 0 Poland Wisła Płock v.  Norway, 11 October 2021
DF Esteban Saveljić (1991-05-29) 29 May 1991 (age 33) 4 0 Spain Rayo Vallecano v.  Turkey, 1 September 2021WD
DF Ilija Martinović (1994-01-31) 31 January 1994 (age 30) 3 0 Montenegro Dečić v.  Israel, 5 June 2021
DF Marko Vučić (1996-12-30) 30 December 1996 (age 27) 2 0 Montenegro Sutjeska Nikšić v.  Israel, 5 June 2021
DF Dragan Grivić (1996-02-12) 12 February 1996 (age 28) 1 0 Montenegro Sutjeska Nikšić v.  Israel, 5 June 2021
DF Adrijan Rudović (1995-06-10) 10 June 1995 (age 29) 0 0 Montenegro Dečić v.  Israel, 5 June 2021
MF Aleksandar Šćekić (1991-12-12) 12 December 1991 (age 32) 29 0 Poland Zagłębie Lubin v.  Armenia, 24 March 2022
MF Igor Ivanović (1990-09-09) 9 September 1990 (age 34) 11 3 Montenegro Budućnost v.  Armenia, 24 March 2022
MF Draško Božović (1988-06-30) 30 June 1988 (age 36) 9 0 Montenegro Dečić v.  Armenia, 24 March 2022
MF Sead Hakšabanović (1999-05-04) 4 May 1999 (age 25) 25 1 Sweden Djurgårdens IF v.  Armenia, 24 March 2022WD
MF Vladimir Jovović (1994-10-26) 26 October 1994 (age 30) 43 0 Montenegro Sutjeska Nikšić v.  Turkey, 16 November 2021
MF Nebojša Kosović (1995-02-24) 24 February 1995 (age 29) 32 1 China Meizhou Hakka v.  Turkey, 16 November 2021
MF Luka Mirković (1990-11-01) 1 November 1990 (age 34) 4 0 Montenegro Budućnost v.  Turkey, 16 November 2021
MF Ilija Vukotić (1999-01-07) 7 January 1999 (age 25) 2 1 Portugal Boavista v.  Turkey, 16 November 2021
MF Vukan Savićević (1994-01-29) 29 January 1994 (age 30) 8 0 Turkey Samsunspor v.  Israel, 5 June 2021
FW Uroš Đurđević (1994-03-02) 2 March 1994 (age 30) 8 0 Spain Sporting Gijón v.  Armenia, 24 March 2022
FW Stefan Mugoša (1992-02-23) 23 February 1992 (age 32) 40 11 South Korea Incheon United v.  Armenia, 24 March 2022WD
FW Fatos Bećiraj (vice-captain) (1988-05-22) 22 May 1988 (age 36) 85 15 Montenegro Dečić v.  Turkey, 16 November 2021
FW Nikola Vujnović (1997-01-11) 11 January 1997 (age 27) 5 1 United States Sporting Kansas City v.  Turkey, 16 November 2021
FW Stefan Milošević (1996-06-23) 23 June 1996 (age 28) 2 0 Montenegro Budućnost v.  Israel, 5 June 2021

INJ Withdrew due to injury
PRE Preliminary squad / standby
RET Retired from the national team
SUS Serving suspension
WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.

Player records

Main article: Montenegro national football team records and statistics
As of 28 March 2022[18]
Players in bold are still active at international level.

Most capped players

Fatos Bećiraj is Montenegro's most capped player.
Rank Player Caps Goals Career
1 Fatos Bećiraj 85 15 2009–
2 Stevan Jovetić 63 31 2007–
3 Stefan Savić 62 5 2010–
4 Elsad Zverotić 61 5 2008–2017
5 Žarko Tomašević 51 5 2010–
6 Marko Simić 50 2 2013–
7 Nikola Vukčević 47 1 2014–
8 Mirko Vučinić 46 17 2007–2017
Adam Marušić 46 2 2015–
10 Simon Vukčević 45 2 2007–2014

Top goalscorers

Stevan Jovetić is the national team top scorer.
Rank Player Goals Caps Average Career
1 Stevan Jovetić 31 63 0.49 2007–
2 Mirko Vučinić 17 46 0.37 2007–2017
3 Fatos Bećiraj 15 85 0.18 2009–
4 Stefan Mugoša 11 40 0.28 2015–
5 Dejan Damjanović 8 30 0.27 2008–2015
6 Radomir Đalović 7 26 0.27 2007–2012
7 Andrija Delibašić 6 21 0.29 2009–2013
8 Žarko Tomašević 5 51 0.1 2014–
Stefan Savić 5 62 0.08 2010–
10 Elsad Zverotić 5 61 0.07 2008–2017

Competitive record

Montenegro have participated in seven qualification rounds for World Cup or European Championship tournaments. Montenegro have never qualified, and their biggest success was reaching the play-offs for Euro 2012.
Montenegro first tried to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but they finished fifth in their group. They had more success in the Euro 2012 qualifiers, when they finished second in their group to reach the play-offs, but lost to the Czech Republic.
In the qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup, Montenegro finished third, and two years later, in the qualifiers for Euro 2016, they finished fourth in their group. They again finished third in their 2018 World Cup qualifying group. Worst performance came in the qualifiers for Euro 2020, as Montenegro finished last-placed in the group without single victory.

Competition Pld W D L GF GA GD
FIFA World Cup qualifiers 40 13 13 14 61 58 +3
UEFA European Championship qualifiers 28 6 8 14 20 45 −25
UEFA Nations League 12 6 2 4 17 8 +9
Friendly games 46 17 12 17 53 53 0
Overall 126 42 35 49 151 164 −13

Updated: 28 March 2022

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Position
1930 to 1990 Part of  SFR Yugoslavia Part of  SFR Yugoslavia
1994 to 2006 Part of  FR Yugoslavia / Serbia and Montenegro Part of  FR Yugoslavia / Serbia and Montenegro
South Africa 2010 Did not qualify 10 1 6 3 9 14 5/6
Brazil 2014 10 4 3 3 18 17 3/6
Russia 2018 10 5 1 4 20 12 3/6
Qatar 2022 10 3 3 4 14 15 4/6
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined To be determined
Total 0/4 40 13 13 14 61 58 —

UEFA European Championship

UEFA European Championship record Qualifying record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Position
1960 to 1992 Part of  SFR Yugoslavia Part of  SFR Yugoslavia
1996 to 2004 Part of  FR Yugoslavia / Serbia and Montenegro Part of  FR Yugoslavia / Serbia and Montenegro
Austria Switzerland 2008 Did not enter Did not enter
Poland Ukraine 2012 Did not qualify 10 3 3 4 7 10 2/5; lost play-offs
France 2016 10 3 2 5 10 13 4/6
Europe 2020 8 0 3 5 3 22 5/5
Germany 2024 To be determined To be determined
Total 0/3 28 6 8 14 20 45 —

UEFA Nations League

UEFA Nations League record
Year Division Group Pld W D L GF GA P/R RK
Portugal 2018–19 C 4 6 2 1 3 7 6 Same position 35th
Italy 2020–21 C 1 6 4 1 1 10 2 Rise 34th
2022–23 B To be determined
Total 12 6 2 4 17 8 34th

Head-to-head record

Below is a summary of Montenegrin national team results against every opponent country.

As of 28 March 2022
Opponent P W D L GF GA GD Win %
 Albania 2 0 0 2 2 4 −2 000.00
 Armenia 3 1 0 2 6 5 +1 033.33
 Austria 2 0 0 2 2 4 −2 000.00
 Azerbaijan 3 2 1 0 4 0 +4 066.67
 Belarus 4 2 2 0 4 1 +3 050.00
 Belgium 1 0 1 0 2 2 +0 000.00
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2 0 2 0 0 0 +0 000.00
 Bulgaria 6 1 4 1 6 8 −2 016.67
 Colombia 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 000.00
 Cyprus 5 2 3 0 9 3 +6 040.00
 Czech Republic 4 0 0 4 0 9 −9 000.00
 Denmark 3 1 0 2 2 3 −1 033.33
 England 6 0 3 3 5 19 −14 000.00
 Estonia 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 100.00
 Georgia 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1 050.00
 Ghana 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 100.00
 Gibraltar 2 2 0 0 7 1 +6 100.00
 Greece 2 1 0 1 2 2 +0 050.00
 Hungary 3 2 1 0 7 5 +2 066.67
 Iceland 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 100.00
 Israel 1 0 0 1 1 3 −2 000.00
 Iran 2 0 1 1 1 2 −1 000.00
 Italy 2 0 0 2 1 4 −3 000.00
 Japan 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2 000.00
 Kazakhstan 4 3 1 0 11 0 +11 075.00
 Kosovo 2 0 1 1 1 3 −2 000.00
 Latvia 4 2 2 0 5 2 +3 050.00
 Liechtenstein 2 1 1 0 2 0 +2 050.00
 Lithuania 2 2 0 0 6 1 +5 100.00
 Luxembourg 3 2 0 1 6 3 +3 066.67
 Moldova 4 3 0 1 7 5 +2 075.00
 North Macedonia 3 1 0 2 4 7 −3 033.33
 Netherlands 2 0 1 1 2 6 −4 000.00
 Northern Ireland 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 100.00
 Norway 4 1 0 3 4 6 −2 025.00
 Poland 4 0 2 2 6 9 −3 000.00
 Republic of Ireland 2 0 2 0 0 0 +0 000.00
 Romania 5 1 2 2 2 6 −4 020.00
 Russia 2 0 0 2 0 5 −5 000.00
 San Marino 2 2 0 0 9 0 +9 100.00
 Serbia 2 0 0 2 1 4 −3 000.00
 Slovakia 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2 000.00
 Slovenia 2 0 1 1 1 3 −2 000.00
 Sweden 3 0 1 2 3 6 −3 000.00
  Switzerland 2 1 0 1 1 2 −1 050.00
 Turkey 4 0 2 2 5 7 −2 000.00
 Ukraine 2 1 0 1 1 4 −3 050.00
 Uzbekistan 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 100.00
 Wales 3 2 0 1 4 3 +1 066.67
48 Countries 123 41 33 49 148 162 −14 033.33

FIFA rankings

Main article: Montenegro national football team records and statistics

Montenegro national football team is present on FIFA rankings since June 2007. Until now, best ranking of Montenegro was 16th place in the world (June 2011).
Below is a list of Montenegro position on FIFA ranking-list by every six months, with number of points.

See also

Notes

References

  1. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  2. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 16 October 2024. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  3. ^ "Serbia to take spot in Euro 2008". BBC Sport. 23 May 2006. Retrieved 11 April 2007.
  4. ^ Mark Chaplin (2006). "No decision yet on Gibraltar". UEFA.com. Archived from the original on 28 November 2006. Retrieved 11 April 2007.
  5. ^ Simon Hart (2007). "UEFA to consider 24-team EURO". UEFA.com. UEFA. Archived from the original on 19 February 2007. Retrieved 11 April 2007.
  6. ^ "Soccer-Montenegro beat Hungary 2–1 in international debut". Reuters.co.uk. Reuters. 24 March 2007. Retrieved 11 April 2007.
  7. ^ "Montenegro take a bow with victory". UEFA.com. UEFA. 2007. Archived from the original on 4 June 2007. Retrieved 11 April 2007.
  8. ^ "Blatter's third term confirmed". FIFA.com. FIFA. 2007. Archived from the original on June 3, 2007. Retrieved 17 October 2007.
  9. ^ "Crna Gora ubjedljiva protiv San Marina - pukla šestica, oboren rekord". vijesti.me (in Montenegrin). Vijesti. 11 September 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  10. ^ "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ - Matches - Ukraine-Montenegro". FIFA.com. FIFA. 16 October 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2016.[dead link]
  11. ^ "Montenegro Arrests Fans for Football Violence". balkaninsight.com. Balkan Insight. 31 March 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  12. ^ "Sportski objekti na teritoriji Glavnog grada Podgorica".
  13. ^ "Fudbalski savez Crne Gore".
  14. ^ "VIDEO: Zavirite u novu Kuću fudbala - CDM".
  15. ^ "Montenegro vs. Israel (Friendly)". Union of European Football Associations. 5 June 2021.
  16. ^ FIFA.com
  17. ^ "Radulović objavio spisak, nova lica u nacionalnom timu: Šipčić, Carević..." (in Serbian). 4 March 2022.
  18. ^ Mamrud, Roberto. "Montenegro - Record International Players". RSSSF.
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