Soccer-Serbia to emulate Iceland against England, says Vlahovic
FIL E PHOTO: Soccer Football - Serie A - Juventus v Monza - Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy - May 25, 2024 Juventus' Dusan Vlahovic before the match REUTERS/Massimo Pinca/File photo
(Reuters) - Serbia will take a page from Iceland's book and use the lack of pressure to their advantage in Sunday's Group C match against England in the European Championship, forward Dusan Vlahovic said on Friday.
Vlahovic, who has scored 18 goals in 38 outings for Seria A side Juventus this season, is drawing inspiration from Iceland's 1-0 victory over England in an international friendly at Wembley last week.
Though Serbia have participated in four of the last five World Cups, this would be their first Euros as an independent nation. They were quarter-finalists as part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia team in 2000.
After suffering early exits in the last two World Cups, Serbia are hopeful of success in the Euros with a promising strategy for an early win in their campaign.
“No one is invincible,” Vlahovic said ahead of Sunday's match in Gelsenkirchen. “We looked at the match against Iceland and there are things that can be copied from them, because they beat them at Wembley in front of 80,000 people.
"Everything is possible. (England) are the favourites, maybe the biggest in the tournament, but we believe in ourselves and we are going step by step to present ourselves in the best light.
"This way we have a calmer environment and can prepare more serenely for the upcoming matches."
The 24-year-old said that England captain Harry Kane was the one of the best strikers in the world. "I don’t want to put pressure on myself and don’t want to compare myself with players like him," he added.
"Of course it will be a chance for me because I play with no pressure (but) everybody is expecting England to win the Euros, so it is a good opportunity."
Following Serbia, England face Denmark on Thursday and Slovenia five days later.
(Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Kolkata; Editing by William Mallard)