The Serbian football team was defeated by Mexico with a score of 5:1 (2:1) in a friendly match played in Toluca.
Veljko Paunović’s team did not have the strength and quality to oppose the upbeat home team. Despite the fact that they took the lead with a goal by Petr Stanić, they experienced a painful failure in a duel with one of the organizers of the World Cup.
The “Eagles” played with a significantly rejuvenated team, as a large part of the standard national team members canceled before the matches with Cape Verde and Mexico. Before the trip to Central America selector Paunović was left without three more players (Pavlović, Živković, Milošević), so guys who could play more important roles in the national team in the future got a chance.
However, they did not make a name for themselves in Toluca. On the contrary… The quality was clearly on the home team’s side.
The guests held their own in the first half. Our team took the lead with Stanić’s goal in the 19th minute, but Vasquez equalized the score 15 minutes later. Perhaps the “Mexican soap opera” would have ended a bit happier for the Serbian national team if Mexico had not gone to the big break with an advantage, as the Bukinac scored an own goal in the second minute of stoppage time.
As a result, it was the end in Toluca, but the story essentially already had clear outlines due to the pandemic of cancellations ahead of two friendly matches.
The statistics in this case were clear. Mexico sent 15 shots at Serbia’s goal (seven on target, eight off target), the “eagles” only three (1+2). The ball was in the feet of the “sombreros” for two-thirds of the match, so the resulting debacle was inevitable.
Head coach Paunović is left with a headache ahead of the League of Nations, which starts in September. With what forces in the upcoming battles, who to trust at the moment when some have disappointed him, maybe something more. We believe that the charismatic expert could not have guessed what problems he would have when he took over the national team in the fall at the end of the unsuccessful World Cup qualifiers.
Mexico – Serbia 5:1 (2:1)
SAGITTARIUS: 0:1 Stanić 19, 1:1 Vasquez 34, 2:1 Bukinac (ag) 45+2, 3:1 Jimenez 57, 4:1 Avdić (ag) in 72, 5:1 Chavez 90.
Stadium: “Nemesio Diaz” in Toluca.
MEXICO: Rangel, Sanchez, Montes (58. Reyes) Vasquez (73. Chavez Garcia), Gallardo, Fidalgo (from 58. Mora), Lira (46. Alvarez), Gutierrez, Alvarado (73. Pineda), Jimenez (58. Chavez), Quinones (58. Vega).
SERBIA: F. Stanković (62. V. Ilić), Đurđević (75. Kostov), Eraković (79. Milikić), Simić (75. P. Petrović), Bukinac (62. Avdić), Dragojević (62. NJ. Petrović), A. Stanković (75. Mimović), Ranđelović (46. Birmančević), Stanić (46. Zukić), Štulić (46. Ivanović), Lučić (79. Nedeljković).
Bonus video: Veljko Paunović on Andrej Ilić
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