Serbia to host Greece in UEFA Nations League opener at Rajko Mitic on September 24
Serbia will face Greece at the Rajko Mitic Stadium on September 24 (BST) in the opening match of the UEFA Nations League 2026-27, with Veljko Paunovic’s side aiming for a positive start to the campaign. The match is the first outing for both teams in Group B of the competition.
Paunovic leads the home side and Ivan Jovanović is in charge of the visitors; Greece are in Group B alongside Germany, the Netherlands and Serbia. Serbia enter the fixture at home and have described the priority as securing three points, while their next two group matches have been described as tough tests. The hosts have emphasized game control and finishing as areas to address ahead of kickoff.
Individual form notes supplied in the preview include a 26-year-old who has scored five goals in seven matches for Besiktas this season and is listed among Serbia’s options. Dusan Vlahovic has scored 16 goals in 41 appearances for Serbia. For Greece, 27-year-old Vangelis Pavlidis has 17 goal contributions in 13 club matches this season and has 10 goals in 57 appearances for his country.
Serbia’s selected squad is listed as follows: Goalkeepers: Vanja Milinkovic Savic, Dorde Petrovic, Dilip Stankovic. Defenders: Strahinja Pavlovic, Strahinja Erakovic, Srdan Babic, Nikola Simic, Kosta Nedelkovic, Aleksa Terzic, Petar Sukacev, Lazar Nikolic. Midfielders: Aleksandar Stankovic, Nemanja Maksimovic, Sergej Milinkovic Savic, Sasa Lukic, Nemanja Gudelj, Vanja Dragojevic, Lazar Samardzic, Andrija Zivkovic, Filip Kostic, Stefan Dzodic, Vasilije Kostov, Dusan Tadic. Forwards: Dusan Vlahovic, Luka Jovic, Dejan Joveljic, Mihajlo Cvetkovic, Jovan Milosevic.
Greece’s selected squad is listed as follows: Goalkeepers: Odysseas Vlachodimos, Christos Mandas, Konstantinos Tzolakis. Defenders: Konstantinos Mavropanos, Giannis Michaelides, Panagiotis Retsos, Konstantinos Koulierakis, Andreas Ntoi, Manolis Saliakas, Georgios Vagiannidis, Giorgos Kyriakopoulos, Konstantinos Tsimikas. Midfielders: Thanasis Androutsos, Christos Zafeiris, Nectarios Triantis, Dimitrios Kourbelis, Christos Mouzakitis, Konstantinos Karetsas, Christos Tzolis, Giorgos Masouras, Alexandros Kyziridis. Forwards: Fotis Ioannidis, Vangelis Pavlidis, Anastasios Douvikas, Andrews Tetteh, Charalampos Kostoulas.
Aleksa Terzic might have to sit out for Serbia due to a lack of fitness, while the preview states all of Greece’s selected players are available. Projected lineups provided in the preview are: Milinkovic Savic (GK); Erakovic, Simic, Pavlovic, Kostic; Lukic, Dragojevic, Zivkovic, Samardzic, Tadic; Vlahovic and Tzolakis (GK); Vagiannidis, Koulierakis, Mavropanos, Tsimikas; Zafeiris, Mouzakitis; Masouras, Karetsas, Tzolis; Pavlidis.
The preview gives Serbia a slight edge and predicts Veljko Paunovic’s men are likely to secure a win. Broadcast arrangements listed in the preview are India: Sony Sports Network, SonyLIV; UK: Prime Video UK, S4C; Serbia: RTS Serbia, Arena Sport; Greece: NOVA Greece, Alpha TV; USA: FOX Sports, FuboTV, ViX; the preview also notes that by tuning into Sony Sports Network and SonyLIV, fans can watch all the matches live.