Montenegro national football team

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.[2]

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.[3] Montenegro's first FIFA World Ranking was joint 199th place, the last place on the list by default.

Mirko Vučinić was the first captain of Montenegro

On 26 January 2007, the Montenegro FA was granted full membership of UEFA.[4] 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.[5][6] On 31 May 2007, Montenegro was admitted as FIFA's 208th member.[7] 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.

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.

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,[8] the biggest win in the team's history. Montenegro then beat Ukraine 1–0 in Kyiv,[9] 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.

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.[10] 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.

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 their 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.

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 an 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.

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.[11] 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,[12] and House of Football – the seat of the Football Association of Montenegro.[13]

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.

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" (Montenegrin: Hrabri Sokoli).

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
daCapo	2007–2008
Legea	2008–present

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.

The following players were called up for games against Lebanon on 12 October and against Serbia on 17 October 2023.[15]

Caps and goals as of 17 October 2023, after the match against Serbia.[16][17]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Milan Mijatović	(1987-07-26) 26 July 1987	34	0	Borac Banja Luka
12	1GK	Danijel Petković	(1993-05-25) 25 May 1993	25	0	Kisvárda
13	1GK	Suad Ličina	(1995-02-08) 8 February 1995	0	0	Sutjeska Nikšić
15	2DF	Stefan Savić (vice-captain)	(1991-01-08) 8 January 1991	71	9	Atlético Madrid
6	2DF	Žarko Tomašević	(1990-02-22) 22 February 1990	64	5	Astana
23	2DF	Adam Marušić	(1992-10-17) 17 October 1992	57	3	Lazio
3	2DF	Risto Radunović	(1992-05-04) 4 May 1992	32	1	FCSB
	2DF	Igor Vujačić	(1994-08-08) 8 August 1994	29	0	Rubin Kazan
2	2DF	Andrija Vukčević	(1996-10-11) 11 October 1996	6	0	Juárez
22	2DF	Miloš Milović	(1995-12-22) 22 December 1995	4	0	Navbahor Namangan
5	2DF	Marko Tući	(1998-12-04) 4 December 1998	3	0	Gangwon
	2DF	Slobodan Rubežić	(2000-03-21) 21 March 2000	1	0	Aberdeen
16	3MF	Vladimir Jovović	(1994-10-26) 26 October 1994	54	0	Jablonec
8	3MF	Marko Janković	(1995-07-09) 9 July 1995	43	1	Qarabağ
18	3MF	Nebojša Kosović	(1995-02-24) 24 February 1995	33	1	Meizhou Hakka
	3MF	Marko Bakić	(1993-11-01) 1 November 1993	24	0	OFI
4	3MF	Marko Vukčević	(1993-06-07) 7 June 1993	18	1	Varaždin
19	3MF	Miloš Raičković	(1993-10-02) 2 October 1993	17	0	Aktobe
20	3MF	Stefan Lončar	(1996-02-19) 19 February 1996	12	0	Debrecen
7	3MF	Driton Camaj	(1997-03-07) 7 March 1997	10	1	Kisvárda
14	3MF	Edvin Kuč	(1993-10-27) 27 October 1993	2	2	Ballkani
	3MF	Andrija Radulović	(2002-07-03) 3 July 2002	2	0	Vojvodina
	3MF	Vladan Bubanja	(1999-02-21) 21 February 1999	1	0	Lokomotiva
10	4FW	Stevan Jovetić (captain)	(1989-11-02) 2 November 1989	72	33	Olympiacos
9	4FW	Stefan Mugoša	(1992-02-23) 23 February 1992	53	15	Incheon United
21	4FW	Milutin Osmajić	(1999-07-25) 25 July 1999	20	2	Preston North End
11	4FW	Nikola Krstović	(2000-04-05) 5 April 2000	12	2	Lecce
17	4FW	Dušan Bakić	(1999-02-23) 23 February 1999	4	0	Dinamo Minsk

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

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Miloš Dragojević	(1989-02-03) 3 February 1989	2	0	Mladost DG	v.  Bulgaria, 10 September 2023
GK	Matija Šarkić	(1997-07-23) 23 July 1997	7	0	Millwall	v.  Bulgaria, 10 September 2023
GK	Lazar Carević	(1999-03-16) 16 March 1999	2	0	Vojvodina	v.  Hungary, 17 June 2023PRE
DF	Nikola Šipčić	(1995-05-17) 17 May 1995	7	0	Tenerife	v.  Lebanon, 12 October 2023INJ
DF	Marko Vešović	(1991-08-28) 28 August 1991	48	2	Qarabağ	v.  Czech Republic, 20 June 2023
DF	Jonathan Drešaj	(2000-03-15) 15 March 2000	0	0	Dečić	v.  Czech Republic, 20 June 2023
MF	Aleksandar Šćekić	(1991-12-12) 12 December 1991	40	0	Partizan	v.  Bulgaria, 10 September 2023
MF	Sead Hakšabanović	(1999-05-04) 4 May 1999	33	1	Stoke City	v.  Bulgaria, 10 September 2023
MF	Vukan Savićević	(1994-01-29) 29 January 1994	19	0	Giresunspor	v.  Bulgaria, 10 September 2023
MF	Novica Eraković	(1999-11-12) 12 November 1999	4	0	Omonia Nicosia	v.  Czech Republic, 20 June 2023
MF	Aleksandar Boljević	(1995-12-12) 12 December 1995	26	2	Željezničar	v.  Serbia, 27 March 2023
MF	Nikola Vukčević	(1991-12-13) 13 December 1991	51	1	Free Agent	v.  Slovenia, 20 November 2022
FW	Viktor Đukanović	(2004-01-29) 29 January 2004	2	0	Hammarby IF	v.  Lebanon, 12 October 2023INJ
FW	Uroš Đurđević	(1994-03-02) 2 March 1994	12	0	Sporting Gijón	v.  Bulgaria, 10 September 2023
Notes 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.