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MITROVIC: WE’RE SURE SERBIA CAN ACHIEVE SOME REALLY SPECTACULAR RESULTS

10-21-2022

FIFA

  • Aleksandar Mitrovic is Serbia’s all-time leading marksman
  • He discusses his immense pride at representing his country
  • Mitrovic backs Serbia to have a “spectacular” FIFA World Cup

Aleksandar Mitrovic holds the record for most goals scored in the English Championship and currently has his sights set on firing Fulham to safety in the Premier League. But the striker’s main objective is to excel at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ and help Serbia reach the knockout phase for the first time. The 28-year-old is emblematic of his national team, a quintessential leader who can draw on a wealth of experience and passion to give his side the edge on the global stage. He has scored 50 goals for Serbia – a record he reached in fewer games than Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo did for their respective national teams. Memorably, it was his 90th-minute winner away to Portugal in the final qualifier that propelled Serbia to a Qatar 2022 place and made them may people’s outsiders for the tournament itself. Mitrovic spoke to FIFA about the immense pride he feels at representing his country, why he revels in the pressure on his shoulders, and his ambitions for the forthcoming World Cup.

FIFA: After being far from home for so long, how does it feel to return to Serbia for a training session or a national team match?

Aleksandar Mitrovic: There haven’t been any national-team matches for a long time, but when you represent your country, the time, the place and how you feel don’t matter. Even if the season is over, every national-team game is important, regardless of whether it’s a friendly match or an official match. The upcoming matches will be essential and we’ll give them our best.

What does playing for Serbia mean to you?

It’s the most immense honour of my career. Wearing that jersey and representing my country in major tournaments is priceless. Not just in football, but in every sport. It’s always the greatest satisfaction of all. As far as I’m concerned, representing my people and playing for my country is the greatest privilege.

Having already played and scored at the World Cup, how much does going back mean to you?

It means a lot because as a player, you always want to take part in the biggest tournaments and compete against the best opponents. I’m thankful that I’ve already had the opportunity to play and score in a World Cup to gain more experience. I think most of our team has already participated in a World Cup. We’ve gained some experience, so we’ll be prepared and we hope the result will be better. Last time we weren’t very lucky. Some things just didn’t go our way. It might have been due to our lack of experience. This time we’re ready: the players, the entire national team and the whole country. Everyone is excited for the World Cup.

Looking back at the World Cup four years ago, do you feel that you’ve changed as a player or as a person?

Yes, I think I’ve changed a lot. I’ve matured and grown in general. And when you grow, your way of thinking also changes. As a player, I’m very different from how I used to be. I’m calmer and I’ve learned to play using my head more. Matches give you experience, so I think I’m a different and better player than I was four years ago.

With such a phenomenal scoring record, how confident are you going into Qatar?

I feel very confident. It’s one of the most important things for all players, especially for strikers. When you’re out there on the pitch and you score, you want to keep playing as many matches as possible. We know that the World Cup is still a way off. There are many matches to be played first. But I, my team-mates and the whole nation are looking forward to the tournament. We can’t wait to get started. We have a tough group with strong teams and excellent players, but that’s why we play the game. We want to be there and compete with the best – we can’t wait. I’m very confident, but I think the whole team and the whole country feel the same.

You’re a hero for your country and Serbians are expecting you to score. How does it feel to be so emblematic?

It’s my job. When I play for the national team, for Fulham or anywhere else, people expect me to score. It’s what I do. You’re under a lot of pressure when you’re a striker. You can’t just play well; you have to score. The greatest pressure comes from having to do it in every match. Over the course of my career, I’ve gotten used to this. I like the pressure and what I’m able to do with it. I like to score and to feel the pressure on my shoulders. I know what everyone expects from me. The best feeling is when everyone is happy because of what you did. I like to score and I like that everyone expects me to score. It means I’m good at it.

In your opinion, what were the most important moments of the qualifiers?

There were many great moments and some difficult, crucial moments. Every match was complicated in its own way, even the lower-profile ones, like against Luxembourg or similar opponents. This type of match is important because you need a special kind of motivation. Less demanding matches are the most critical, because that’s where teams usually slip up, with no exceptions. We’ve missed out on big tournaments because of this. The games against Azerbaijan and Luxembourg were important for qualifying for Qatar. Of course, it was also important to have beaten Portugal, but in games like the one against Ireland, the stakes are high and so is the pressure. It’s easier to play this type of match than the less decisive ones. But every match has its hidden difficulties and every victory is important.

How important is it to have a mature squad with players who have already been successful in major tournaments?

I think it’s a decisive advantage because we’ve all gotten past that early stage. We’ve played together, which is important, and we’ve achieved great results. Many of our players have really grown up together. We know each other very well and it’s crucial to know your team-mates. We know how we think. We don’t need a lot of time to start playing together as a team and it’s critical in a national team for the players to know how everyone plays and thinks. The best is yet to come. We’re in our prime. We all hope we’ll be in good form in order to experience the exciting times ahead of us, like in the match against Portugal. Fortunately, we already have plenty of good memories. We’re sure we can achieve some really spectacular results.

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