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Montenegro national football team

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This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Montenegro women's national football team.

Montenegro
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Hrabri sokoli / Храбри соколи
(The Brave Falcons)
AssociationFootball Association of Montenegro (FSCG)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachRobert Prosinečki
CaptainStevan Jovetić
Most capsFatos Bećiraj (86)
Top scorerStevan Jovetić (36)
Home stadiumPodgorica City Stadium
FIFA codeMNE
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 75 Decrease 1 (24 October 2024)[1]
Highest16 (June 2011)
Lowest199 (June 2007)
First international
 Montenegro 2–1 Hungary 
(Podgorica, Montenegro; 24 March 2007)
Biggest win
 San Marino 0–6 Montenegro 
(Serravalle, San Marino; 11 September 2012)
Biggest defeat
 England 7–0 Montenegro 
(London, England; 14 November 2019)

The Montenegro national football team (Montenegrin: Fudbalska reprezentacija Crne Gore) has represented Montenegro in men's international football since 2007. It is controlled by the Football Association of Montenegro, the governing body for football in Montenegro. Montenegro's home ground is Podgorica City Stadium in Podgorica.

Montenegro is one of the world's youngest international teams, having joined FIFA and UEFA in 2007, following the restoration of Montenegrin independence in 2006. Montenegro played its first official international match against Hungary in March 2007, and competed in their first FIFA World Cup qualifiers in 2010.

History

[edit]

Formation

[edit]
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.[3][4][5]

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

First matches

[edit]
Mirko Vučinić was the first captain of Montenegro

On 26 January 2007, the Montenegro FA was granted full membership of UEFA.[7] 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.[8][9] On 31 May 2007, Montenegro was admitted as FIFA's 208th member.[10] 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.

First competitive matches

[edit]

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.

Golden era

[edit]

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,[11] the biggest win in the team's history. Montenegro then beat Ukraine 1–0 in Kyiv,[12] 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.

Ups and downs

[edit]

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.[13] 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.

Worst campaign

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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.

Comeback

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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.

Stadium and facilities

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Main article: Podgorica City Stadium

Montenegro play home matches at the Podgorica City Stadium (Montenegrin: Stadion pod Goricom). The stadium's capacity is 15,230, but international matches reduce this to between 10,700 and 13,000.

Camp FSCG

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Main article: Camp FSCG

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.[14] 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,[15] and House of Football – the seat of the Football Association of Montenegro.[16]

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.

Team image

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Montenegrin supporters

Nickname

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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).

Kits and colours

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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
Serbia daCapo 2007–2008
Italy Legea 2008–present

Supporters

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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.

Results and fixtures

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Main article: Montenegro national football team results

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2023

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16 November 2023 (2023-11-16) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Montenegro  2–0  Lithuania Podgorica, Montenegro
18:00 UTC+1
Report Stadium: Podgorica City Stadium
Attendance: 3,647
Referee: Artur Soares Dias (Portugal)
19 November 2023 (2023-11-19) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Hungary  3–1  Montenegro Budapest, Hungary
15:00 UTC+1
Report
Stadium: Puskás Aréna
Attendance: 59,600
Referee: Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)

2024

[edit]
21 March Friendly Montenegro  2–0  Belarus Antalya, Turkey
18:00
Report Stadium: Mardan Sports Complex
Referee: Kadir Sağlam (Turkey)
25 March Friendly Montenegro  1–0  North Macedonia Antalya, Turkey
18:00
Report Stadium: Mardan Sports Complex
Referee: Zorbay Küçük (Turkey)
5 June Friendly Belgium  2–0  Montenegro Brussels, Belgium
20:30
Report Stadium: King Baudouin Stadium
Referee: Kristoffer Karlsson (Sweden)
9 June Friendly Montenegro  1–3  Georgia Podgorica, Montenegro
20:45
Report
Stadium: Podgorica City Stadium
Referee: Aleksandar Stavrev (North Macedonia)
6 September 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B Iceland  2–0  Montenegro Reykjavík, Iceland
18:45 UTC±0
Report Stadium: Laugardalsvöllur
Attendance: 4,683
Referee: Willy Delajod (France)
9 September 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B Montenegro  1–2  Wales Nikšić, Montenegro
19:45 UTC±0
Report
Stadium: Gradski stadion (Nikšić)
Attendance: 3,569
Referee: Georgi Kabakov (Bulgaria)
11 October 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B Turkey  1–0  Montenegro Samsun, Turkey
21:45 UTC+3
Report Stadium: Samsun 19 Mayıs Stadium
Attendance: 28,829
Referee: Daniele Chiffi (Italy)
14 October 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B Wales  1–0  Montenegro Cardiff, Wales
19:45 UTC±0
Report Stadium: Cardiff City Stadium
Attendance: 27,326
Referee: Filip Glova (Slovakia)
16 November 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B Montenegro  v  Iceland Nikšić, Montenegro
18:00 UTC+1 Report Stadium: Gradski stadion (Nikšić)
19 November 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B Montenegro  v  Turkey Nikšić, Montenegro
20:45 UTC+1 Report Stadium: Gradski stadion (Nikšić)

Coaching history

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Manager Career Played Won Draw Lost GF GA Win %
Montenegro Zoran Filipović 2006–2009 23 8 8 7 28 31 34.78%
Croatia Zlatko Kranjčar 2010–2011 13 6 2 5 14 11 46.15%
Montenegro Branko Brnović 2011–2015 34 11 9 14 44 50 32.35%
Serbia Ljubiša Tumbaković 2016–2019 26 7 7 12 33 33 26.92%
Montenegro Miodrag Džudović 2019 (caretaker) 2 0 1 1 1 4 00.00%
Bosnia and Herzegovina Faruk Hadžibegić 2019–2020 13 5 4 4 13 16 38.46%
Montenegro Miodrag Radulović 2020–2023 23 6 4 13 22 35 26.08%
Croatia Robert Prosinečki 2024–present 7 2 0 5 5 10 28.57%

Players

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In international football, players can normally only play for one national team once they play in all or part of any match recognised as a full international by FIFA. However, an exception is made in cases where one or more newly independent states are created out of a former state. Based on current FIFA rules, a player will be eligible to play for Montenegro, even if he had previously represented Serbia and Montenegro or any other country, if at least one of the following statements applies:[17]

  • The player was born in Montenegro;
  • At least one of their parents and/or at least one of their grandparents was born in Montenegro;
  • The player has lived in Montenegro continuously for any five-year period.

Due to mixed ancestries, it is likely that a high percentage of the players eligible to play for Montenegro will also remain eligible to play for Serbia, and vice versa. However, once they have played for either Serbia or Montenegro in any competitive fixture, they are no longer eligible to play for any other nation.

Current squad

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The following players were called up for games against Iceland on 16 October and against Turkey on 19 November 2024.[18]

Caps and goals as of 14 October 2024, after the match against Wales.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Milan Mijatović (1987-07-26) 26 July 1987 (age 37) 40 0 Montenegro Budućnost Podgorica
1GK Danijel Petković (1993-05-25) 25 May 1993 (age 31) 25 0 Latvia Liepāja
1GK Igor Nikić (2000-08-25) 25 August 2000 (age 24) 2 0 Montenegro Dečić
1GK Balša Popović (2000-06-10) 10 June 2000 (age 24) 0 0 Serbia OFK Beograd
2DF Adam Marušić (1992-10-17) 17 October 1992 (age 32) 63 4 Italy Lazio
2DF Risto Radunović (1992-05-04) 4 May 1992 (age 32) 38 1 Romania FCSB
2DF Igor Vujačić (1994-08-08) 8 August 1994 (age 30) 36 0 Russia Rubin Kazan
2DF Marko Vukčević (1993-06-07) 7 June 1993 (age 31) 26 1 Bosnia and Herzegovina Borac Banja Luka
2DF Andrija Vukčević (1996-10-11) 11 October 1996 (age 28) 13 0 Spain Cartagena
2DF Nikola Šipčić (1995-05-17) 17 May 1995 (age 29) 10 0 Spain Cartagena
2DF Marko Tući (1998-12-04) 4 December 1998 (age 25) 5 0 South Korea Gangwon
3MF Vladimir Jovović (1994-10-26) 26 October 1994 (age 30) 62 0 Uzbekistan Sogdiana Jizzakh
3MF Marko Janković (1995-07-09) 9 July 1995 (age 29) 50 1 Azerbaijan Qarabağ
3MF Marko Bakić (1993-11-01) 1 November 1993 (age 31) 31 0 Greece OFI
3MF Driton Camaj (1997-03-07) 7 March 1997 (age 27) 19 2 Hungary Kisvárda
3MF Stefan Lončar (1996-02-19) 19 February 1996 (age 28) 14 0 Russia Akron Tolyatti
3MF Edvin Kuč (1993-10-27) 27 October 1993 (age 31) 9 3 Azerbaijan Neftçi
3MF Miloš Brnović (2000-04-26) 26 April 2000 (age 24) 5 0 Montenegro Budućnost Podgorica
3MF Andrija Radulović (2002-07-03) 3 July 2002 (age 22) 4 0 Serbia Vojvodina
3MF Milan Vukotić (2002-10-05) 5 October 2002 (age 22) 1 0 Montenegro Budućnost Podgorica
4FW Stevan Jovetić (captain) (1989-11-02) 2 November 1989 (age 35) 82 36 Cyprus Omonia Nicosia
4FW Stefan Mugoša (1992-02-23) 23 February 1992 (age 32) 60 15 South Korea Incheon United
4FW Nikola Krstović (2000-04-05) 5 April 2000 (age 24) 22 3 Italy Lecce

Recent call-ups

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The following players have also been called up in the last twelve months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Filip Đukić (1999-08-06) 6 August 1999 (age 25) 1 0 Denmark Hvidovre v.  Hungary, 19 November 2023
GK Nikola Ivezić (2003-04-01) 1 April 2003 (age 21) 0 0 Belgium Lommel v.  Hungary, 19 November 2023
DF Slobodan Rubežić (2000-03-21) 21 March 2000 (age 24) 7 1 Scotland Aberdeen v.  Wales, 14 October 2024
DF Stefan Savić (vice-captain) (1991-01-08) 8 January 1991 (age 33) 73 9 Turkey Trabzonspor v.  Wales, 9 September 2024
DF Marko Vešović (1991-08-28) 28 August 1991 (age 33) 54 2 Azerbaijan Qarabağ v.  Wales, 9 September 2024
DF Meldin Drešković (1998-03-26) 26 March 1998 (age 26) 3 0 Hungary Debreceni VSC v.  Georgia, 9 June 2024
DF Žarko Tomašević (1990-02-22) 22 February 1990 (age 34) 64 5 Montenegro Dečić v.  Hungary, 19 November 2023
DF Miloš Milović (1995-12-22) 22 December 1995 (age 28) 4 0 Azerbaijan Sumgayit v.  Hungary, 19 November 2023
MF Ilija Vukotić (1999-01-07) 7 January 1999 (age 25) 3 1 Portugal Boavista v.  Wales, 14 October 2024
MF Novica Eraković (1999-11-12) 12 November 1999 (age 24) 4 0 Cyprus Omonia Nicosia v.  Wales, 9 September 2024
MF Vasilije Adžić (2006-05-12) 12 May 2006 (age 18) 0 0 Italy Juventus v.  Iceland, 6 September 2024INJ
MF Nebojša Kosović (1995-02-24) 24 February 1995 (age 29) 34 1 China Meizhou Hakka v.  Georgia, 9 June 2024
MF Vukan Savićević (1994-01-29) 29 January 1994 (age 30) 20 0 Serbia Vojvodina v.  Georgia, 9 June 2024
MF Demir Škrijelj (1997-07-10) 10 July 1997 (age 27) 1 0 Ukraine Vorskla Poltava v.  Georgia, 9 June 2024
MF Vladan Bubanja (1999-02-21) 21 February 1999 (age 25) 1 0 Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo v.  Georgia, 9 June 2024
MF Miloš Raičković (1993-10-02) 2 October 1993 (age 31) 18 0 Free Agent v.  Hungary, 19 November 2023
FW Milutin Osmajić (1999-07-25) 25 July 1999 (age 25) 27 2 England Preston North End v.  Wales, 14 October 2024
FW Viktor Đukanović (2004-01-29) 29 January 2004 (age 20) 4 0 Belgium Standard Liège v.  Wales, 9 September 2024
FW Vladimir Perišić (2004-08-26) 26 August 2004 (age 20) 0 0 Czech Republic Slavia Prague B v.  Wales, 9 September 2024
FW Dušan Bakić (1999-02-23) 23 February 1999 (age 25) 9 0 Cyprus Omonia Nicosia v.  Georgia, 9 June 2024
Notes
  • WD = Player withdrew from the current squad due to non-injury issue.
  • INJ = Not part of the current squad due to injury.

Player records

[edit]
Main article: Montenegro national football team records and statistics
As of 11 October 2024[19]
Players in bold are still active with Montenegro.

Most appearances

[edit]
Fatos Bećiraj is Montenegro's most capped player.
Rank Player Caps Goals Career
1 Fatos Bećiraj 86 15 2009–2022
2 Stevan Jovetić 82 36 2007–present
3 Stefan Savić 73 9 2010–present
4 Žarko Tomašević 65 5 2010–present
5 Adam Marušić 62 4 2015–present
6 Vladimir Jovović 61 0 2013–present
Elsad Zverotić 61 5 2008–2017
8 Stefan Mugoša 60 15 2015–present
9 Marko Vešović 54 2 2013–present
10 Nikola Vukčević 51 1 2014–present

Top goalscorers

[edit]
Stevan Jovetić is the national team top scorer.
Rank Player Goals Caps Average Career
1 Stevan Jovetić 36 82 0.43 2007–present
2 Mirko Vučinić 17 46 0.37 2007–2017
3 Stefan Mugoša 15 60 0.25 2015–present
Fatos Bećiraj 15 86 0.17 2009–2022
5 Stefan Savić 9 73 0.12 2010–present
6 Dejan Damjanović 8 30 0.27 2008–2015
7 Radomir Đalović 7 26 0.27 2007–2012
8 Andrija Delibašić 6 21 0.29 2009–2013
9 Elsad Zverotić 5 61 0.08 2008–2017
Žarko Tomašević 5 65 0.08 2014–present

Competitive record

[edit]

Montenegro have participated in seven qualification rounds for World Cup or European Championship tournaments. Montenegro have never qualified, and their biggest success was reaching the play-offs for Euro 2012.[citation needed]
Montenegro first tried to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but they finished fifth in their group. They had more success in the Euro 2012 qualifiers, when they finished second in their group to reach the play-offs, but lost to the Czech Republic.[citation needed]
In the qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup, Montenegro finished third, and two years later, in the qualifiers for Euro 2016, they finished fourth in their group. They again finished third in their 2018 World Cup qualifying group. Worst performance came in the qualifiers for Euro 2020, as Montenegro finished last-placed in the group without single victory.[citation needed]

Competition Pld W D L GF GA GD
FIFA World Cup qualifiers 40 13 13 14 61 58 +3
UEFA European Championship qualifiers 43 8 9 16 25 51 −26
UEFA Nations League 19 7 3 9 21 17 +4
Friendly games 53 20 13 19 62 64 -2
Overall 144 47 39 58 167 190 −23

Updated: 11 October 2024

FIFA World Cup

[edit]
FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Pos Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 to France 1938 Part of  Yugoslavia Part of  Yugoslavia
Brazil 1950 to Italy 1990 Part of  Yugoslavia Part of  Yugoslavia
United States 1994 to South Korea Japan 2002 Part of  FR Yugoslavia Part of  FR Yugoslavia
Germany 2006 Part of  Serbia and Montenegro Part of  Serbia and Montenegro
South Africa 2010 Did not qualify 5th 10 1 6 3 9 14
Brazil 2014 3rd 10 4 3 3 18 17
Russia 2018 3rd 10 5 1 4 20 12
Qatar 2022 4th 10 3 3 4 14 15
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined To be determined
Morocco Portugal Spain 2030
Saudi Arabia 2034
Total 0/4 — 40 13 13 14 61 58

UEFA European Championship

[edit]
UEFA European Championship record Qualification record Qualification play-offs record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Pos. Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
France 1960 Part of  Yugoslavia Part of  Yugoslavia Part of  Yugoslavia
Spain 1964
Italy 1968
Belgium 1972
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1976
Italy 1980
France 1984
West Germany 1988
Sweden 1992
England 1996 Part of  FR Yugoslavia Part of  FR Yugoslavia Part of  FR Yugoslavia
Belgium Netherlands 2000
Portugal 2004 Part of  Serbia and Montenegro Part of  Serbia and Montenegro Part of  Serbia and Montenegro
Austria Switzerland 2008 Did not enter Did not enter —
Poland Ukraine 2012 Did not qualify PO 8 3 3 2 7 7 2 0 0 2 0 3
France 2016 4th 10 3 2 5 10 13 —
Europe 2020 5th 8 0 3 5 3 22
Germany 2024 3rd 8 3 2 3 9 11
United Kingdom Republic of Ireland 2028 To be determined To be determined To be determined
Italy Turkey 2032
Total 0/4 — 34 9 10 15 29 53 2 0 0 2 0 3

UEFA Nations League

[edit]
UEFA Nations League record
Season Division Group Pld W D L GF GA P/R RK
2018–19 C 4 6 2 1 3 7 6 Same position 35th
2020–21 C 1 6 4 1 1 10 2 Rise 34th
2022–23 B 3 6 2 1 3 6 6 Same position 28th
2024–25 B 4 To be determined
Total 18 8 3 7 23 14 28th

Head-to-head record

[edit]

Below is a summary of Montenegrin national team results against every opponent country.

As of 14 October 2024
Opponent P W D L GF GA GD Win %
 Albania 2 0 0 2 2 4 −2 000.00
 Armenia 3 1 0 2 6 5 +1 033.33
 Austria 2 0 0 2 2 4 −2 000.00
 Azerbaijan 3 2 1 0 4 0 +4 066.67
 Belarus 5 3 2 0 6 1 +5 060.00
 Belgium 2 0 1 1 2 4 −2 000.00
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 4 0 3 1 1 2 −1 000.00
 Bulgaria 8 3 4 1 9 9 +0 037.50
 Colombia 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 000.00
 Cyprus 5 2 3 0 9 3 +6 040.00
 Czech Republic 5 0 0 5 1 13 −12 000.00
 Denmark 3 1 0 2 2 3 −1 033.33
 England 6 0 3 3 5 19 −14 000.00
 Estonia 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 100.00
 Finland 2 0 0 2 0 4 −4 000.00
 Georgia 3 1 1 1 3 4 −1 033.33
 Ghana 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 100.00
 Gibraltar 2 2 0 0 7 1 +6 100.00
 Greece 2 1 0 1 2 2 +0 050.00
 Hungary 5 2 2 1 8 8 +0 040.00
 Iceland 2 1 0 1 2 3 −1 050.00
 Israel 1 0 0 1 1 3 −2 000.00
 Iran 2 0 1 1 1 2 −1 000.00
 Italy 2 0 0 2 1 4 −3 000.00
 Japan 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2 000.00
 Kazakhstan 4 3 1 0 11 0 +11 075.00
 Kosovo 2 0 1 1 1 3 −2 000.00
 Latvia 4 2 2 0 5 2 +3 050.00
 Lebanon 1 1 0 0 3 2 +1 100.00
 Liechtenstein 2 1 1 0 2 0 +2 050.00
 Lithuania 4 3 1 0 10 3 +7 075.00
 Luxembourg 3 2 0 1 6 3 +3 066.67
 Moldova 4 3 0 1 7 5 +2 075.00
 North Macedonia 4 2 0 2 5 7 −2 050.00
 Netherlands 2 0 1 1 2 6 −4 000.00
 Northern Ireland 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 100.00
 Norway 4 1 0 3 4 6 −2 025.00
 Poland 4 0 2 2 6 9 −3 000.00
 Republic of Ireland 2 0 2 0 0 0 +0 000.00
 Romania 7 3 2 2 7 6 +1 042.86
 Russia 2 0 0 2 0 5 −5 000.00
 San Marino 2 2 0 0 9 0 +9 100.00
 Serbia 4 0 0 4 2 9 −7 000.00
 Slovakia 2 0 1 1 2 4 −2 000.00
 Slovenia 3 0 1 2 1 4 −3 000.00
 Sweden 3 0 1 2 3 6 −3 000.00
  Switzerland 2 1 0 1 1 2 −1 050.00
 Turkey 5 0 2 3 5 8 −3 000.00
 Ukraine 2 1 0 1 1 4 −3 050.00
 Uzbekistan 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 100.00
 Wales 5 2 0 3 5 6 −1 040.00
51 Teams 152 50 39 63 177 201 −24 032.89

FIFA rankings

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Main article: Montenegro national football team records and statistics

See also

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  2. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 16 October 2024. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  3. ^ "Serbia to take spot in Euro 2008". BBC Sport. 23 May 2006. Archived from the original on 2 September 2006. Retrieved 11 April 2007.
  4. ^ UEFA.com (2007-01-26). "Montenegro named UEFA member | Inside UEFA". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  5. ^ Frylan, Kevin (August 9, 2007). "UEFA admits Montenegro". Reuters. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  6. ^ Mark Chaplin (2006). "No decision yet on Gibraltar". UEFA.com. Archived from the original on 28 November 2006. Retrieved 11 April 2007.
  7. ^ Simon Hart (2007). "UEFA to consider 24-team EURO". UEFA.com. UEFA. Archived from the original on 19 February 2007. Retrieved 11 April 2007.
  8. ^ "Soccer-Montenegro beat Hungary 2–1 in international debut". Reuters.co.uk. Reuters. 24 March 2007. Archived from the original on 11 January 2009. Retrieved 11 April 2007.
  9. ^ "Montenegro take a bow with victory". UEFA.com. UEFA. 2007. Archived from the original on 4 June 2007. Retrieved 11 April 2007.
  10. ^ "Blatter's third term confirmed". FIFA.com. FIFA. 2007. Archived from the original on June 3, 2007. Retrieved 17 October 2007.
  11. ^ "Crna Gora ubjedljiva protiv San Marina - pukla šestica, oboren rekord". vijesti.me (in Montenegrin). Vijesti. 11 September 2012. Archived from the original on 19 September 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  12. ^ "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil – Matches – Ukraine-Montenegro". FIFA.com. FIFA. 16 October 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2016.[dead link]
  13. ^ "Montenegro Arrests Fans for Football Violence". balkaninsight.com. Balkan Insight. 31 March 2015. Archived from the original on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  14. ^ "Sportski objekti na teritoriji Glavnog grada Podgorica". Archived from the original on 2023-04-27. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
  15. ^ "Fudbalski savez Crne Gore". Archived from the original on 2014-06-05. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
  16. ^ "VIDEO: Zavirite u novu Kuću fudbala - CDM". Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
  17. ^ FIFA.com
  18. ^ "Spisak za mečeve sa Islandom i Turskom" (in Serbian). 9 November 2024. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  19. ^ Mamrud, Roberto. "Montenegro - Record International Players". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
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