Republic of Ireland v Serbia Football Results

The Republic of Ireland has played Serbia five times in the past and has yet to record a victory against the Balkan nation.

The first match between the two countries was played on the 24th of May in 2008. It was a friendly played in front of a crowd of 42,500 at Croke Park in Dublin that ended in a 1-1 draw. Andy Keogh scored a last minute equaliser to cancel out a 76th minute goal from Marko Pantelic.

A second draw in a friendly in Belgrade in 2012 was followed by yet another friendly in 2014 in Dublin. This time Serbia ran out 2-1 winners at the Aviva Stadium in Martin O’Neill’s third match as Ireland manager. Ireland took a ninth minute lead through Shane Long however two second half goals were enough to secure an away win for Serbia.

The first competitive meeting between Ireland and Serbia was in a 2018 World Cup qualifier. It was the opening match in the campaign and was played in Belgrade in September 2016. Daryl Murphy’s first goal for Ireland earned the Republic  a fortunate draw. Jeff Hendrick’s deflected shot gave Ireland a very early lead as they held out until half-time despite  constant pressure from Serbia. Filip Kostic equalised on 62 minutes and Dusan Tadic scored a controversial penalty just seven minutes later.

Ireland looked to be beaten but Murphy headed the equaliser on 81 minutes.

In the return fixture, exactly a year later, Serbia staged a smash and grab 1-0 win despite being reduced to ten men after 68 minutes. Ireland had a lot of possession and applied a lot of pressure yet couldn’t manage to score. It was a hugely disappointing result that effectively ended Ireland’s chances of making it to the 2018 World Cup finals.

Republic of Ireland Match Results Against Serbia

Republic of Ireland v Serbia Record Summary

Ireland v Serbia World Cup Qualifiers Record

Ireland v Serbia Euro Qualifiers Record

Ireland v Serbia Friendly Matches Record