Serbia vs Lithuania

Stadion Rajko Mitic is the venue as Serbia and Lithuania go head-to-head in an opening game of their Euro 2024 qualification Group G campaign.

Serbia’s road to redemption following another World Cup fiasco, which saw them concede multiple goals in all three group matches (D1, L2), begins on home turf, where they’ve won back-to-back competitive games by an identical score of 4-1. After going down to Scotland in the Euro 2020 qualification playoff final, the Serbs embark on a mission to qualify for the most prominent continental tournament for the first time as an independent nation. Maintaining their tradition of never losing their first match of a Euro qualifying campaign as an independent state will be a priority for Serbia (W2, D2). Lithuania’s visit to Belgrade bodes well, as the ‘Eagles’ have won all four historical H2Hs at home, three times by an eye-catching three-goal margin.

On the other hand, current Lithuania manager Edgaras Jankauskas has painful memories of his last meeting with Serbia, going down 4-1 in what proved to be the final game of his first managerial tenure at the national team. Back at the helm after a five-year hiatus, he’ll be looking to repay the favor to the Serbs and halt his side’s dreadful run of nine internationals without winning (D2, L7 – 90mins only). However, after losing their last seven competitive away matches, including six without scoring, the visitors look doomed ahead of the kick-off. Indeed, Lithuania’s travel sickness has seen them lose 12 of their 13 away matches since the start of 2021 (W1), underlining their status as betting outsiders.