On June 7, the “Air Albania” stadium in Tirana will host a highly emotional clash for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, as Albania takes on Serbia in the third match of Group K.

For Serbia, this will be their first qualifier, followed by a match against Andorra three days later in Leskovac.

This game carries significant emotional weight due to the tense history between the two teams, especially stemming from the infamous Euro 2016 qualifier in Belgrade.

Ahead of the match, Serbia’s head coach Dragan Stojković has released the preliminary squad list for the match against Albania.

Notably absent are well-known names like Vanja and Sergej Milinković-Savić, while team leaders such as Aleksandar Mitrović, Dušan Vlahović, and Luka Jović are confirmed.

Serbia’s Preliminary Squad for the Match Against Albania:

Goalkeepers:

Predrag Rajković, Đorđe Petrović, Aleksandar Jovanović, Dragan Rosić

Defenders:

Nikola Milenković, Strahinja Pavlović, Strahinja Eraković, Srđan Babić, Nemanja Stojić, Jan Karlo Simić, Aleksa Terzić, Kosta Nedeljković

Midfielders:

Saša Lukić, Nemanja Gudelj, Nemanja Maksimović, Andrija Živković, Ivan Ilić, Lazar Samardžić, Aleksandar Katai, Uroš Račić, Stefan Mitrović, Mirko Topić, Andrija Maksimović, Petar Stanić, Milutin Vidosavljević

Forwards:

Aleksandar Mitrović, Dušan Vlahović, Luka Jović, Nikola Štulić

Stojković has also surprised by recalling Aleksandar Katai to the national team, and has called up several players from the Serbian Superliga, including Dragan Rosić (Vojvodina), Petar Stanić (TSC), and Milutin Vidosavljević (Radnički 1923).

Albania’s national team is expected to announce its player list in the coming days, while the atmosphere in Tirana is growing increasingly charged ahead of this major showdown.