Injured Vlahovic included in Serbia's World Cup squad

AP , Friday 11 Nov 2022

Center forward Dusan Vlahovic was included in Serbia's squad for the World Cup on Friday despite missing his last four matches with Juventus because of a groin problem.

(FILES) This file photo taken on October 12, 2021 shows Serbia s forward Dusan Vlahovic celebraing after scoring during the FIFA World Cup 2022 Group A qualification football match between Serbia and Azerbaijan at the Rajko Mitic Stadium in Belgrade. - Serbia s forward Dusan Vlahovic will attend the football FIFA World Cup 2022 with his team, in Group G. (Photo by ANDREJ ISAKOVIC / AFP)

Vlahovic hasn't played since Juventus was eliminated from the Champions League with a loss at Benfica on Oct. 25.

But Serbia coach Dragan Stojkovic is prepared to wait until his star player is healthy _ especially since Vlahovic scored 50 goals in all competitions with Fiorentina and Juventus over the past two seasons.

Aleksandar Mitrovic, another prolific scorer, could provide quite a strike duo with Vlahovic.

Also included for Serbia was Filip Kostic, who has been providing assists for Vlahovic with both Juventus and the national team.

In a 26-man team featuring 11 players from Serie A, Serbia's midfield is led by Lazio's Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.

Serbia opens against Group G favorite Brazil on Nov. 24 then plays Cameroon four days later before facing Switzerland on Dec. 2.

Serbia will play a pre-tournament friendly against Bahrain next Friday.

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Serbia:

Goalkeepers: Marko Dmitrovic (Sevilla), Predrag Rajkovic (Mallorca), Vanja Milinkovic-Savic (Torino)

Defenders: Stefan Mitrovic (Red Star Belgrade), Nikola Milenkovic (Fiorentina), Strahinja Pavlovic (Salzburg), Milos Veljkovic (Werder Bremen), Filip Mladenovic (Legia Warsaw), Strahinja Erakovic (Red Star Belgrade), Srdan Babic (Almeria)

Midfielders: Nemanja Gudelj (Sevilla), Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Lazio), Sasa Lukic (Torino), Marko Grujic (Porto), Filip Kostic (Juventus), Uros Racic (Braga), Nemanja Maksimovic (Getafe), Ivan Ilic (Hellas Verona), Andrija Zivkovic (PAOK Thessaloniki), Darko Lazovic (Hellas Verona)

Forwards: Dusan Tadic (Ajax), Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham), Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus), Filip Duricic (Sampdoria), Luka Jovic (Fiorentina), Nemanja Radonjic (Torino)

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