Serbia v Spain - UEFA Nations League as it happened as La Roja only manage draw against stubborn hosts
ByTNT Sports
Updated 21/03/2025 at 11:39 GMT
Welcome to our live text coverage of Serbia v Spain in the UEFA Nations League, as we see the first outing of last summer's Euro 2024 winners, including Lamine Yamal. He will be joined by the likes of Nico Williams and Dani Olmo as La Roja look to continue their excellent record in international football. Serbia's side contains Luka Jovic, the one-time Real Madrid forward.
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WHAT FOOTBALL IS ON TNT SPORTS?
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Any matches that fall within the Saturday blackout window in the UK cannot be shown live. The blackout window prohibits matches being shown on television between 14:45 and 17:15 in the UK.
THAT'S ALL FROM ME!
Right, thanks very much for joining me for that one. If you missed any of the action, here's my full report.
SERBIA 0-0 SPAIN - REPORT
A wasteful Spain failed to get the defence of their UEFA Nations League campaign off to a winning start, as they were held to a 0-0 draw in Belgrade by Serbia.
It took a little while for the game to burst into life, but it finally did deep into the first half, when Nico Williams whipped one strike over and Ayoze Perez forced a good save out of Predrag Rajkovic.
At the other end, Luka Jovic should have opened the scoring when he missed the target from close range, before Veljko Birmancevic was denied by David Raya.
Things continued in a similar fashion after the break, when Spain dominated possession and continued to carve out a string of openings, only to be let down once they got into the penalty area.
Lamal was the most likely to score, missing a couple of chances, while Williams and substitute Alex Grimaldo were also thwarted, as Serbia clung on for an impressive point.
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RESULT ELSEWHERE
The other match in League A4 was between Denmark and Switzerland, which the hosts won 2-0 in Copenhagen.
There's also been a huge result for San Marino, who have picked up a victory for the first time in TWENTY(!) years. They beat Leichtenstein 1-0
90+5' FULL-TIME SERBIA 0-0 SPAIN
And there goes the full-time whistle. Not the scoreline we respected, but huge credit to Serbia for grabbing a point. They defended expertly
90+3' SPAIN PUSHING
They've forced a corner, but cannot do anything with it
90+1' THREE MINUTES ADDED ON
We're into injury time
88' TIME RUNNING OUT
We're still at 0-0, surprisingly, and if Serbia can hold on, it would be a huge point for them
85' SERBIA SUB
Stefan Mitrovic comes on for Ilic
83' JOSELU STRAIGHT INTO THE ACTION
We know from history that he loves to score goals as a substitute, but on this occasion he heads over the bar from Grimaldo's cross
82' DOUBLE SPAIN SUB
Joselu and Ferran Torres are on for Olmo and Williams
81' WILLIAMS DENIED
Nicol Williams wins a head in the area from Carvajal's cross, but Rajkovic is there again
79' SPAIN HOLDING ONTO THE BALL
The visitors have had 74% of the possession and 18 shots on goal, but only four of them have been on target so far
76' PEDRI IS ON
He replaces Ruiz for Spain
76' YAMAL SHOT SAVED
The young star has another go from a similar position inside the area. This time he does test Rajkovic, but the goalkeeper makes the save
75' TIME RUNNING OUT
Will Spain find a way through to get their Nations League off to a winning start?
72' YAMAL FIRES WIDE
Yamal tries his luck from inside the area, but drags his shot wide of the far post
71' GRIMALDO DENIED
The substitute at least calls the goalkeeper into action, but that's as far as it goes as his shot is saved
69' AND NOW A SERBIA YELLOW
Belic follows the Spain man into the book for a poor tackle on Yamal
69' OLMO BOOKED
Not a great tackle from the Spain main and he goes into the book
68' CAN SPAIN FIND A WAY THROUGH?
They'll be disappointed with their finishing so far, but there's no doubt they are the team with the upperhand at the moment
65' RUIZ SHOT BLOCKED
Spain are trying to turn up the heat, but Ruiz sees his effort his a Serbia player and bounce to safety
62' ANOTHER CHANCE GOES BEGINNING
Le Normand cannot convert from a corner, as he misses the target. These chances are totting up
59' NEDELJKOVIC MISSES THE TARGET
If that had gone in, it would have been a stunning goal. A remarkable Serbia counter, starting near their own penalty area and involving some glorious one-touch football and several players. They pass their way into the Spain half, and then the penalty area, but Nedeljkovic cannot test the goalkeeper
57' SPAIN SUBS
Cucurella and Perez are off, with Oyarzabal and Grimaldo coming on
54' SPAIN DICTATING THE TEMPO
Not too dissimilar to the first half, Spain are having a lot of the ball. They're almost toying with Serbia in the way they are pinging the ball about, but theor opponents are not getting drawn into anything rash
51' CARVAJAL COMES CLOSE!
A huge chance for Spain, as Yamal clips a well disguised free-kick into the penalty area when it looked like he would shoot. He picks out Carvajal, but the defender's effort soars over the bar
49' ILIC COMES CLOSE
Serbia win a free-kick on the edge of the area after a foul by Laporte. Ilic takes, and can't quite get enough bend on it to curl the right side of the post
46' BACK UNDERWAY
And after that, Spain kick the second half off
46' HALF-TIME SUB
Jan-Carlo Simic is on for Erakovic at the break
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RONALDO MAKES HISTORY
Croatia are playing Serbia tonight, and look who's been on the scoresheet - only Cristiano Ronaldo, with the 900th strike of his professional career. Here's the details.
45+1' HALF-TIME: SERBIA 0-0 SPAIN
Lots of chances as the half wore on, but neither goalkeeper has been beaten yet. Serbia will be much the happier of the two teams
45+1' ONE MINUTE ADDED ON
Not a great deal of additional time, but we're into it
43' BIRMANCEVIC BOOKED
Perhaps that Yamal tackle has stirred his opponents, as he's quickly scythed down by Birmancevic, who also gets a yellow card for his troubles
41' YAMAL IS CAUTIONED
That's a pretty wretched tackle by Yamal, who is chasing after Pavlovic and lunges in on the Serbia man, bringing him down from behind. Unsurprisingly, he gets booked.
40' CAN SPAIN BREAK THE DEADLOCK?
There's not long to go until the break and after that frantic five or so minutes, and Spain are beginning to wrestle back a bit of the momentum. Can they find a way through this resilient defence then?
37' RUIZ SHOOTS OFF TARGET
The chances are beginning to flow now! Lovely play by Williams to tee up Ruiz, but he drags wide of the far post from just inside the box
36' RAYA TO THE RESCUE
A good save for the Spain stopper, who gets down to his right to keep out Veljko Burmancevic's shot
34' WHAT! A! SITTER!
Oh my goodness! Jovic has just missed an absolute sitter. The ball breaks to him from Andrija Zikovic's reverse pass. He's in on goal, one-on-one, and he somehow misses the target by yanking past the far post. They may live to regret that
33' PEREZ DENIED
An excellent reaction save in the Serbia goal from Predrag Rajkovic keeps Ayoze Perez at bay, as the striker's first time strike from near the penalty spot is diverted to safety
31' RUIZ CLATTERS OVER
And another strike from outside the area, this time from Fabian Ruiz, but it soars over the bar
30' WILLIAMS WHIPS HIGH AND WIDE
The forward cuts in from the left and aims for the far corner, but he's not quite got his radar right, as his shot misses the target
27' YELLOW CARD TO CARVAJAL
The defender goes into the book for a bodycheck on Pavlovic
27' CAN SPAIN MAKE MOMENTUM COUNT?
The visitors are well on top at the moment, with the majority of the game being played in the Serbia half of the field. However, for the time being, they aren't finding a way through
24' ZUBIMENDI SHOT SAVED
That's the first shot on target of the game, but it's a fairly tame one, as Zubimendi curls a low, slow effort straight at the goalkeeper from just outside the box
21' CARVAJAL VOLLEYS OVER
A Nico Williams cross is cleared to the edge of the box, from where Dani Carvajal tries his luck, meeting the dipping ball with a first time strike on his right boot, but it flies narrowly over
18' SPAIN ON THE PROWL
A few nervy moments for the Serbia defence, as Marc Cucurella and Olmo said nasty crosses into the box, but both are cleared
15' SERBIA COPING WELL
It has been an impressive start from the hosts. They've been sturdy in defence and are not looking to sit back
12' OVER THE BAR
And there is the first chance of the game, and it comes for Serbia. Luka Jovic is picked out from a cross on the left, but he hooks his shot from the edge of the area over the bar
11' SPAIN PRESSING FORWARD
Olmo gets around the outside of the Serbia defence for the first time, but he cannot find a team-mate with his cross
8' SLOW START
Spain are certainly having the most of the ball, and they have drawn a few fouls, but neither goalkeeper has been tested as of yet
5' EARLY BOOKING
Well, Strahinja Erakovic of Serbia is going to be walking a tightrope for the rest of the match. He goes into the book for a bad foul on Dani Olmo
1' HERE WE GO!
We are underway!
LEAGUE A4
As for this match; it's being played in League A4. The other two teams in this group are Denmark and Switzerland, who face off in Copenhagen tonight
ACTION ELSEWHERE
We've also got you covered for Portugal vs Croatia tonight. Here's how to follow that one.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD
Amazingly, this is only the second time these two nations have met. On the previous occasion, back in 2012, Spain won 2-0 courtesy of goals from Adrian Lopez and Santi Cazorla
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Santi Cazorla during a match with Spain
Image credit: TNT Sports
NATIONS LEAGUE HISTORY
Spain have reached the last two Nations League finals, losing to France in 2021 before beating Croatia on penalty to lift the trophy in 2023.
Serbia's history in the competition is not quite as illustrious. They have been promoted to Division A for the first time this season, so are entering new territory
WHAT FOOTBALL IS ON TNT SPORTS?
TNT Sports will show over 500 matches from the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Conference League, as well as exclusive Premier League games across the 2024-25 season.
The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination.
Any matches that fall within the Saturday blackout window in the UK cannot be shown live. The blackout window prohibits matches being shown on television between 14:45 and 17:15 in the UK.
EUROS HEROES START FOR SPAIN
La Roja, meanwhile, name eight of the players who started in their Euro 2024 final victory over England in their XI.
Unai Simon, Rodri and Alvaro Morata are the trio missing, all injured and replaced by David Raya, Martin Zubimendi and Ayoze Perez.
SERBIA MISSING KEY MEN
There's a few stars missing from the hosts' starting XI, namely Aleksandar Mitrovic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, neither of whom are in the squad
TEAM NEWS
Here's the two starting XIs for tonight!
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Alvaro Morata of Spain lifts the UEFA Euro 2024 Henri Delaunay Trophy after his team's victory during the UEFA EURO 2024 final match between Spain and England at Olympiastadion on July 14, 2024 in Berlin, Germany.
Image credit: Getty Images
SERBIA: Rajkovic; Pavlovic, Milenkovic, Erakovic; Nedeljkovic, Ivan Ilic, Lukic, Birmancevic; Samardzic, Jovic, Zikovic
Subs: Marko Ilic, Aleksandar Jovanovic, Terzic, Simic, Babic, Belic, Grujic, Mitrovic, Djordge Jovanovic, Aleksic, Ratkov
SPAIN: Raya; Cucurella, Le Normand, Laporte, Carvajal; Fabian, Zubimendi; Olmo, Yamal, Ayoze, Williams
Subs: Sanchez, Remiro, Pau Torres, Grimaldo, Mingueza, Pino, Pedri, Garcia, Pepelu, Ferran Torres, Joselu, Oyarzabal
GOOD EVENING!
Hello and welcome to tonight's coverage from the UEFA Nations League, where defending champions Spain play their opening group game against Serbia. Team news coming up!
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TNT Sports will show over 500 matches from the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Conference League across the 2024-25 season. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination.
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