Yugoslavia national football team

This article is about the 1920–92 team representing the SFR Yugoslavia and its predecessor states. For the team representing FR Yugoslavia after the breakup of Yugoslavia, see Serbia and Montenegro national football team.

Yugoslavia

Nickname(s)	Beli Orlovi (White Eagles) Plavi (The Blues) Brazilians of Europe
Association	Football Association of Yugoslavia
Most caps	Dragan Džajić (85) (SFRY)
Top scorer	Stjepan Bobek (38) (SFRY)
Home stadium	Red Star Stadium, Belgrade
FIFA code	YUG
First colours Second colours
First international
Czechoslovakia 7–0 KY (Antwerp, Belgium; 28 August 1920) After 1945 Czechoslovakia 0–2 SFRY (Prague, Czechoslovakia; 9 May 1945) Last International as SFRY Netherlands 2–0 SFRY (Amsterdam, Netherlands; 25 March 1992)
Biggest win
SFRY 10–0 Venezuela (Curitiba, Brazil; 14 June 1972)
Biggest defeat
Czechoslovakia 7–0 KY (Antwerp, Belgium; 28 August 1920) Uruguay 7–0 KY (Paris, France; 26 May 1924) Czechoslovakia 7–0 KY (Prague, Czechoslovakia; 28 October 1925)
World Cup
Appearances	8 (first in 1930)
Best result	Semi-finals: 1930; Fourth place: 1962
European Championship
Appearances	4 (first in 1960)
Best result	Runners-up (2): 1960, 1968
Medal record Yugoslavia national football team Medal record Men’s Football Olympic Games 1960 Rome Team 1948 London Team 1952 Helsinki Team 1956 Melbourne Team 1984 Los Angeles Team Mediterranean Games 1971 İzmir Team 1979 Split Team

The Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918–1941, until 1929 as Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes), and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1943–1992, until November 29, 1945 as Democratic Federal Yugoslavia, November 29, 1945–1963 as Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia) in association football. It enjoyed success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international competition as part of a United Nations sanction. In 1994, when the boycott was lifted, it was succeeded by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia national football team.

Serbia national football team inherited Yugoslavia's spot within FIFA and UEFA and is considered by both organisations as the only successor of Yugoslavia.

History

Yugoslavia at the 1924 Summer Olympics.

The first national team was in the kingdom that existed between the two world wars. The Football Federation of what was then the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was founded in Zagreb in 1919 under the name Jugoslovenski nogometni savez (and admitted into FIFA), and the national team played its first international game at the Summer Olympics in Antwerp in 1920. The opponent was Czechoslovakia, and the historic starting eleven that represented Kingdom of SCS on its debut were: Dragutin Vrđuka, Vjekoslav Župančić, Jaroslav Šifer, Stanko Tavčar, Slavin Cindrić, Rudolf Rupec, Dragutin Vragović, Artur Dubravčić, Emil Perška, Ivan Granec, and Jovan Ružić. They lost by a huge margin 0–7, but nonetheless got their names in the history books.

1930 World Cup

A Yugoslavia line-up in the 1930 FIFA World Cup.

In 1929, the country was renamed to Yugoslavia and the football association became Fudbalski Savez Jugoslavije and moved its headquarters to Belgrade. The national team participated at the 1930 FIFA World Cup, finishing in fourth place. In its first ever World Cup match in Montevideo's Parque Central, Yugoslavia managed a famous 2–1 win versus mighty Brazil, with the following starting eleven representing the country: Milovan Jakšić, Branislav Sekulić, Aleksandar Tirnanić, Milutin Ivković, Ivica Bek, Momčilo Đokić, Blagoje Marjanović, Milorad Arsenijević, Đorđe Vujadinović, Dragoslav Mihajlović, and Ljubiša Stefanović. The national team consisted of players based in Serbian football clubs, while the Zagreb Subassociation forbid players from Croatian clubs, some of which were regulars in the national team until then, to play in the World Cup due to the relocation of football association's headquarters from Zagreb to Belgrade.

Silver Medal at 1948 Summer Olympics

Yugoslavia begin their football campaign by defeating Luxembourg 6–1, with five different players scoring the goals. In the quarter-finals and the semi-finals, they would take out Turkey and Great Britain by the same score of 3–1. In the final though, they would lose to Sweden.

Silver Medal at 1952 Summer Olympics

Having a team with many players from the 1948 generation, Yugoslavia was a formidable side at the 1952 Summer Olympics and finished as runners-up behind the legendary Hungary national football team. Against the USSR, Yugoslavia was 5–1 up with 15 minutes of their first round match to go. The Yugoslavs, understandably, put their feet up. Arthur Ellis, the match referee, recorded what happened next in his book, The Final Whistle (London, 1963): "The USSR forced the most honourable draw ever recorded! [Vsevolod] Bobrov, their captain, scored a magnificent hat-trick. After the USSR had reduced the lead to 5–2, he, almost single-handed, took the score to 5–5, scoring his third in the last minute. For once, use of the word sensational was justified." Although Bobrov's early goal in their replay presaged a miraculous recovery, Yugoslavia recovered sufficiently to put out their opponents easily in the second half.

Later decades

The federation and football overall was disrupted by World War II. After the war, a socialist federation was formed and the football federation reconstituted. It was one of the founding members of the UEFA and it organized the 1976 European Championship played in Belgrade and Zagreb. The national team participated in eight World Cups, four Euros, and won the Olympic football tournament in 1960 at the Summer Games (they also finished second three times and third once).

Dragan Džajić holds the record for the most national team caps at 85, between 1964 to 1979. The best scorer is Stjepan Bobek with 38 goals, between 1946 and 1956.

Dissolution and UN embargo

With the end of the Cold War, democratic principles were introduced to the country which brought about the end of Titoist rule. In the subsequent atmosphere, national tensions were heightened. At the Yugoslavia-Netherlands friendly in preparation for the 1990 World Cup, the Croatian crowd in Zagreb jeered the Yugoslav team and anthem and waved Dutch flags (owing to its resemblance to the Croatian tricolour). With the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the team split up and the remaining team of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) was banned from competing at Euro 92. The decision was made on 31 May 1992, just 10 days before the competition commenced.

They had finished top of their qualifying group, but were unable to play in the competition due to United Nations Security Council Resolution 757. Their place was taken by Denmark, who went on to win the competition. Yugoslavia had also been drawn as the top seed in Group 5 of the European Zone in the qualifying tournament for the 1994 World Cup. FRY was barred from competing, rendering the group unusually weak.

Breakup

After the breakup of Yugoslavia, the FRY consisted of Montenegro and Serbia. The national team of Serbia and Montenegro continued under the name Yugoslavia until 2003, when country and team were renamed Serbia and Montenegro. For the later official football teams, see:

• Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team
• Croatia national football team
• Slovenia national football team
• Republic of Macedonia national football team
• Serbia and Montenegro national football team, later
  • Serbia national football team
    • Kosovo national football team (only friendlies)
  • Montenegro national football team

National teams

Former republics

Both FIFA and UEFA consider the Serbian national team to be the direct and sole successor of the Yugoslavia (Kingdom of Yugoslavia, SFR Yugoslavia and FR Yugoslavia) and Serbia and Montenegro national football teams. The teams of other republics were inducted as fully new members.

Nation	Confederation	International Tournament (s)	Qualifying Play-off (s)	FIFA Active
Croatia	UEFA	UEFA Euro 1996 1998 FIFA World Cup 2002 FIFA World Cup UEFA Euro 2004 2006 FIFA World Cup UEFA Euro 2008 UEFA Euro 2012 2014 FIFA World Cup UEFA Euro 2016	Pld: 4 – Won: 4 – Lost: 0	(since 1991)
Serbia and MontenegroKosovo	UEFA	1998 FIFA World Cup UEFA Euro 2000 2006 FIFA World Cup	Pld: 1 – Won: 1 – Lost: 0	(since 1994)
SerbiaKosovo	UEFA	2010 FIFA World Cup	Pld: 0 – Won: 0 – Lost: 0	(since 2008)
Slovenia	UEFA	UEFA Euro 2000 2002 FIFA World Cup 2010 FIFA World Cup	Pld: 5 – Won: 3 – Lost: 2	(since 1991)
Bosnia and Herzegovina	UEFA	2014 FIFA World Cup	Pld: 3 – Won: 0 – Lost: 3	(since 1996)
Montenegro	UEFA		Pld: 1 – Won: 0 – Lost: 1	(since 2007)
North Macedonia	UEFA		Pld: 0 – Won: 0 – Lost: 0	(since 1991)

1^ Competed as FR Yugoslavia, represented Federal Republic of Yugoslavia;

2^ Competed as Serbia and Montenegro, represented State Union of Serbia and Montenegro.

Additional stats:

• Croatia has/will appear at their 9th major tournament since the independence, most by any other former republic;
• Croatia's 3rd-place finish at 1998 FIFA World Cup is the best result at a major tournament by any other former republic;
• Croatia was the first former Yugoslav nation to qualify to a major tournament after independence;
• Slovenia has only qualified for major tournaments via play-offs (3);
• Croatia were seeded inside Pot 1 of FIFA World Cup qualifications on 3 successive occasions, in 2010, 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, after FR Yugoslavia who were seeded once in 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification;
• Only three former Yugoslav republics were ever seeded inside Pot 1 in the history of UEFA European Championship qualifying competition, after FR Yugoslavia (UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying), Croatia (UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying) and Bosnia (Euro 2016 qualifying);
• No former SFR Yugoslav republic was ever seeded or in Pot 1 at finals of a major tournament;
• Niko Kranjčar played for Croatia at 2006 FIFA World Cup under his father – head coach Zlatko Kranjčar; likewise Tino-Sven Sušić played for Bosnia at 2014 FIFA World Cup under his uncle – head coach Safet Sušić.

Youth teams

The under-21 team won the inaugural UEFA U-21 Championship in 1978.

The Yugoslav under-20 team won the FIFA World Youth Championship 1987.

Kit History

Kingdom

1930.

SFRY

1950–1962

1974

1982

1984

1990

Competitive record

World Cup record

Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1930	Semi-finals*	4th	3	2	0	1	7	7
1934	Did Not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1938	Did Not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1950	Round 1	5th	3	2	0	1	7	3
1954	Quarter-finals	7th	3	1	1	1	2	3
1958	Quarter-finals	5th	4	1	2	1	7	7
1962	Semi-finals	4th	6	3	0	3	10	7
1966	Did Not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1970	Did Not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1974	2nd Group Stage	7th	6	1	2	3	12	7
1978	Did Not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1982	Round 1	16th	3	1	1	1	2	2
1986	Did Not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1990	Quarter-Finals	5th	5	3	1	1	8	6
Total	6/14	0 Titles	33	14	7	12	55	42

* Draw for 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifiers was made on 8 December 1991, however due to break-up of SFR Yugoslavia and consequent military conflict, which broke in early 1991, FSJ ceased to exist as football organization of the SFR Yugoslavia. Organization that remained based in Belgrade, Serbia, was excluded from taking part as FSJ or its successor due to UN sanctions.

European Championship record

Year	Round	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1960	Final	2	1	0	1	6	6
1964	Did not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1968	Final	3	1	1	1	2	3
1972	Did not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1976	Fourth Place	2	0	0	2	4	7
1980	Did not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1984	Round 1	3	0	0	3	2	10
1988	Did not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1992	Qualified****
Total	4/9	10	2	1	7	14	26

*There was no third place playoff, but Yugoslavia was awarded with bronze medal

**Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

***Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won. Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

****Qualified for the tournament, but suspended because of United Nations Security Council Resolution 757 during Yugoslav wars. Yugoslavia was replaced by Denmark, who went on to win the tournament.

Most capped players

#	Name	Career	Caps	Goals
1	Dragan Džajić	1964–1979	85	23
2	Zlatko Vujović	1979–1990	70	25
3	Branko Zebec	1951–1961	65	17
4	Stjepan Bobek	1946–1956	63	38
5	Branko Stanković	1946–1956	61	3
6	Faruk Hadžibegić	1982–1992	61	6
7	Ivica Horvat	1946–1956	60	0
8	Vladimir Beara	1950–1959	59	0
9	Rajko Mitić	1946–1957	59	32
10	Bernard Vukas	1948–1957	59	22
11	Vujadin Boškov	1951–1958	57	0
12	Blagoje Marjanović	1926–1938	57	36
13	Jovan Aćimović	1968–1976	55	3
14	Zlatko Čajkovski	1946–1955	55	7
15	Fahrudin Jusufi	1959–1967	55	0
16	Mehmed Baždarević	1982–1992	54	4
17	Ivica Šurjak	1973–1982	54	10
18	Safet Sušić	1977–1990	54	21
19	Milorad Arsenijević	1927–1936	52	0
20	Dragan Holcer	1965–1974	52	0
21	Tomislav Crnković	1952–1960	51	0
22	Milan Galić	1959–1965	51	37
23	Aleksandar Tirnanić	1929–1940	50	12
24	Vladimir Durković	1959–1966	50	0
25	Milutin Šoškić	1959–1966	50	0
26	Branko Oblak	1970–1977	50	8

Head to head records

Opponent	P	W	D	L
Albania	5	4	1	0
Algeria	1	1	0	0
Argentina	6	2	1	3
Austria	17	8	4	5
Belgium	11	5	2	4
Bolivia	2	1	1	0
Brazil	14	2	6	6
Bulgaria	28	17	5	6
Chile	1	0	0	1
Colombia	3	3	0	0
Cyprus	4	4	0	0
Czechoslovakia	31	9	4	18
Denmark	9	7	0	2
East Germany	6	3	2	1
Ecuador	1	0	0	1
Egypt	5	4	0	1
England	14	4	5	5
Ethiopia	1	1	0	0
Faroe Islands	2	2	0	0
Finland	4	2	1	1
France	25	10	7	8
Greece	20	16	2	2
Honduras	1	1	0	0
Hong Kong	1	1	0	0
Hungary	29	5	9	15
India	2	2	0	0
Indonesia	3	3	0	0
Iran	2	1	1	0
Israel	9	6	1	2
Italy	18	4	6	8
Japan	2	2	0	0
South Korea	3	3	0	0
Luxembourg	9	8	1	0
Mexico	4	3	0	1
Morocco	3	3	0	0
Netherlands	7	3	1	3
Northern Ireland	7	5	1	1
Norway	12	9	1	2
Paraguay	2	1	1	0
Poland	19	6	4	9
Portugal	5	2	0	3
Republic of Ireland	2	1	0	1
Romania	40	17	5	18
Saar	1	1	0	0
Scotland	8	1	5	2
Soviet Union	17	2	4	11
Spain	16	5	4	7
Sweden	11	5	2	4
Switzerland	9	5	2	2
United Arab Emirates	1	1	0	0
Tunisia	4	3	0	1
Turkey	11	7	3	1
United States	1	1	0	0
Uruguay	4	2	0	2
Venezuela	1	1	0	0
Wales	7	4	3	0
West Germany	25	8	3	14
Zaire	1	1	0	0

Head coaches

Head coach	Period	Record
		Matches	Won	Drawn	Lost
Ivica Osim	1986–1992	51	27	10	14
Ivan Toplak Ivica Osim	1986	3	1	1	1
Miloš Milutinović	1984–1985	15	7	3	5
Todor Veselinović	1982–1984	18	9	3	6
Miljan Miljanić	1979–1982	22	18	2	2
Dražan Jerković	1978	1	1	0	0
Ante Mladinić	1978	2	0	0	2
Slavko Luštica	1978	0	0	0	0
Stevan Vilotić	1978	2	0	2	0
Marko Valok Stevan Vilotić Gojko Zec	1977	6	1	2	3
Ivan Toplak	1976–1977	8	2	0	6
Ante Mladinić	1974–1976	15	9	2	4
Miljan Miljanić Milan Ribar Sulejman Rebac Tomislav Ivić Milovan Ćirić	1973–1974	11	3	3	5
Vujadin Boškov	1971–1973	27	10	12	5
Rajko Mitić	1967–1970	34	13	10	11
Aleksandar Tirnanić Miljan Miljanić Rajko Mitić Vujadin Boškov Branko Stanković	1966	4	2	0	2
Aleksandar Tirnanić Miljan Miljanić	1966	2	0	1	1
Aleksandar Tirnanić Milan Antolković Miljan Miljanić	1966	3	1	0	2
Aleksandar Tirnanić Milan Antolković Miljan Miljanić Abdulah Gegić	1965	7	2	3	2
Ljubomir Lovrić	1964	11	3	1	7
Ljubomir Lovrić Hugo Ruševljanin	1963–1964	7	5	0	2
Ljubomir Lovrić Prvoslav Mihajlović Hugo Ruševljanin	1961–1963	22	15	2	5
Dragomir Nikolić Aleksandar Tirnanić Ljubomir Lovrić	1959–1961	29	16	8	5
Aleksandar Tirnanić	1955–1958	34	13	11	10
Branko Pešić Aleksandar Tirnanić Leo Lemešić Franjo Wölfl Milovan Ćirić	1954	9	5	2	2
Milorad Arsenijević Aleksandar Tirnanić Leo Lemešić	1952–1954	18	14	2	2
Milorad Arsenijević	1949–1952	23	15	3	5
Milorad Arsenijević Aleksandar Tirnanić	1946–1948	18	12	1	5
Svetozar Popović	1940–1941	3	1	2	0
Boško Simonović	1939–1940	4	1	1	2
Svetozar Popović	1939	1	0	0	1
Boško Simonović	1939	4	1	0	3
Svetozar Popović	1937–1938	13	4	5	4
Nikola Simić	1936	4	1	1	2
Boško Simonović	1935	5	3	2	0
Ivo Šuste Mata Miodragović Petar Pleše	1934–1935	6	3	0	3
Boško Simonović	1933–1934	6	3	1	2
Branislav Veljković	1933	6	3	1	2
Boško Simonović	1930–1932	24	12	1	11
Ante Pandaković	1926–1930	19	7	2	10
Dušan Zinaja	1924–1925	3	0	0	3
Todor Sekulić	1924	1	0	0	1
Veljko Ugrinić	1920–1924	10	3	1	6

See also

Related articles

• List of Yugoslavia international footballers
• List of Yugoslavia national football team goalscorers
• Yugoslavia national football team games
• Yugoslavia national under-21 football team
• Yugoslavia national under-20 football team

Successor teams

• Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team successor
• Croatia national football team successor
• Macedonia national football team successor
• Montenegro national football team successor
• Serbia national football team successor (considered the only official successor of Yugoslavia by FIFA and UEFA)
• Slovenia national football team successor

External links

Media related to Yugoslavia national football team at Wikimedia Commons

• RSSSF - Yugoslavia men's national football team international matches 1920-1992 Template:En icon
• RSSSF - Yugoslavia men's national football team international matches + Serbia and Montenegro and Serbia Template:En icon