The Last Crusade: Serbia v England, Stadion "Rajko Mitic" , WCQ Group K, Belgrade, 9 Sep 25

9 Sep 25

FIFA World Cup Qualifier Group K

Serbia v England

Stadion "Rajko Mitic"

Belgrade, Serbia

The excellent 84 page official programme was available to ViP guests but only had a print run of less than a 1000. It was also available to read as a PDF on the Serbian FA website. All 7 away matches played against Serbia or Yugoslavia have been played in Belgrade. Most recently at the Stadio Rajko Mitic, formerly known as Stadion Crvena Zvezda (Red Star). The first two games however, were played at Partizan's stadium, which was known as JNA Stadium (Yugoslav National Army Stadium) renamed in 1989. The first game played in 1939 was played at the original Partizan stadium, BSK (Beogradski Sport Klub)

The full away record v Serbia/Yugoslavia: W2, D2, L3

(W:0:5) 09 Sep 25 v Serbia, Stadion "Rajko Mitic", Belgrade

(W: 1:4)11 Nov 87 v Yugoslavia, Stadion Red Star, Belgrade

(D: 2:2) 5 Jun 74 v Yugoslavia, Stadion Red Star, Belgrade

(D: 1:1) 9 May 65 v Yugoslavia, Stadion Red Star, Belgrade

(L: 5:0) 11 May 58 v Yugoslavia, JNA Stadion, Belgrade

(L: 1:0) 16 May 54 v Yugoslavia, JNA Stadion, Belgrade

(L: 2:1) 18 May 39 v Yugoslavia, BSK Stadion, Belgrade

The FA secured an allocation of 2,500 tickets but with 6,122 members registering their interest the cap cut off to guarantee a ticket was fairly high at 41 caps. The good news was that I was safe on 50 caps and the cost of a ticket was a very reasonable £5. Sue had missed out on 38 caps and failed in the 2nd sale. ESTC members were to be seated/stood in the South Stand (sector 6 and 7) and later the FA announced all tickets would be E tickets and there would be no ticket collection. As a consequence many decided to cancel flights/hotels and bag the caps!

I did manage to procure 2 paper tickets, slightly above face value in the West Stand but didn't need them in the end, as Sue got one in the away end courtesy of Millwall H.

Pano of Stadion "Rajko Mitic" taken from the South Stand. After the initial advice that the game would be played in Leskovac it came as a massive relief that we would be playing in this iconic stadium. Sadly though, 15% of the stadium had to closed following FIFA sanctions for racist chanting at the Serbia v Andorra game in Leskovac

England took a giant step towards World Cup qualification, thanks to a dominant 5:0 win over Serbia in Belgrade. Harry Kane started it off by netting his 74th England goal on 33 mins. The second goal came 2 mins later when Madueke stormed through to finish with class, after being put through on goal by a sublime Morgan Rogers' flick just inside Serbia's half. Konsa made it 3:0 from close range on 52 mins. Guehi scored the fourth on 75 when he poked the ball home following a delicious free kick by Declan Rice and Rashford coolly rolled a 90th min pen into the net to complete the scoring.

Serbia 0 England 5

Attendance: 39,789

Cole Palmer looking as arrogant as ever

Day 1: Arrival and FK Vozhdovats. Our 1330 Air Serbia flight is on time for the 2 Hr 40 min flight to Belgrade from Stansted

The free bus (line 72 ) took us from the airport to the bus station. We walked the rest to the Airbnb

32 Dositejeva Street, Apartment 22

FK Vozdovac v FK Tekstilac Odzaci

Prva liga Srbije

After a quick turn around we head to Vozdovac to see a game at the Shopping Centre stadium, an iconic venue on any self respecting ground hopper's list

Tickets were on the cheap side (400 RSD), about £3. The funny thing was that due to the influx of English fans at the ticket booth they had run out of small change. I ended up giving her 1000 RSD for 2 (about £7.46)

FK Vozdovac 2 v FK Tekstilac Odzaci 0

Attendance: 1000

The one and only ticket booth

The stadium is on top of the shopping centre. Access is via steps from the basement car park only

The Red dragon of Vozdovac

We sat in the West Stand with all the other English. The East Stand opposite and the South Stand to my right did not appear to be open to fans although some ultras had gathered in the North Stand

Stadion FK Vozdovac (AKA the Shopping Centre stadium)

At HT Sue bags the Red Dragon

Then the calvary arrive

The Vozdovac ultras (the invalids) hold up a banner about a fan called Bojan Majic (to the right). Bojan was murdered on the Belgrade to Bar train on Aug 4 2005. He was with other fans attending a match between their club and Zeta from Golubovaci. On the train they clashed with FK Rad's skinhead fans who boarded the train at Rakovica. During the fight one of the skinheads pulled out a knife and stabbed Bojan in the neck and shoulder, the aggressors then pulled the train emergency break and fled across the fields. The murderer was caught and sentenced to 30 years, later reduced to 15.

Those crazy light celebrations

Post match beers in Vozvodac, Craig is Mr Messy

Day 2: Breakfast in Belgrade, Red Star and the Boat Trip

Burek on the balcony

Belgrade Buregdzina, a famous family Burek and pastry shop in the heart of the old town in Dorcal

Early start to pick up a Free Lions at Republic Square

Cathedral Church of St Michael the Archangel is one the most important churches in the country, known simply as 'Saborna Crvka' (the Cathedral)

In the afternoon we headed to Red Star to do a bit of shopping and sightseeing

Rajko Mitic is the most famous Red Star player of all time. One of only 5 players to be awarded the Zvezdina zvezda (Star of Stars). Although the 5th star was awarded to the entire 1991 squad of European Champions

Official shop

Entrance gates to the North Stand 'Manguparija'💪

T54 - affectionately called the 'Northern Army'

A new recruit for the 'Heroes'😎

'Go bravely and without fear'

'Manguparija' is the spirit of the ultras

Red Star Suzy

Pano from the Red Star Cafe in the West Stand

Sector 5 and 6 of the South Stand will house

the England fans tomorrow night

Red Star is a special place, the murals are capturing, celebrating fans and players from yesteryear

Chilling by the stadium

On our way back we get caught up in an anti government protest. Public transport is cancelled!

'Thirst for nature' by Artez on Beogradska Street

Skardalija

Belgrade Waterfront

Sunset on the Danube and Sava rivers

'Pobednik' (the victor) was built in 1928 to commemorate Serbia's victory over the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires during the Balkan Wars and the WW1

Let the 'Booze Cruise' begin

Sunset on the River Sava

Can you see the SFRJ Kavanas (on the steps to the cathedral). This is where we are dining!

St Regis 5* star hotel, about 450/500 Eu per night

Branko's Bridge on the Sava

The famous SFRJ Kafanas for a taste of old Yugoslavia

Lamb Stew or something similar

Old relics of Yugoslavia

A night cap at Cafe Roma on Dositeyeva Street

Day 3: Matchday and Milena.

Above is the main shopping street 'Knez Mihailova'

On our way to meet our Serbian friend (Milena) for breakfast

Belgrade Street Art

Milena, Sue and Paddington after breakfast at the Vyk Restaurant in Belgrade old town

Bora Todorovic (1929-2014) is a former Serbian actor.

He is also a Partisan fan as the mural shows. It seems the whole city is divided into 2 teams

Milena's bro (Nenad) is not just the former Serbian ambassador to Japan, but also great company. We had a great chat about politics, beer and ping pong

Me and Milena

Pre-Match with the boys in the Berry Bar

After surviving the gridlocked Belgrade traffic,

we got out the taxi to walk the last 700m

Pre-match Belgrade

Will there be any 'Manguparija' tonight?

'Zapad Tribune' under the lights

On arrival at the South Stand we bump into Bish

Gate 25 to Sector 7/6

The view from the South Stand

Steve H, live from the Belgrade

The teams emerge from the infamous Red Star Tunnel right under the North Stand (Sever Tribune)

Anthems

The atmosphere is charged as the Police scour the terraces

1st Half action

Less than 10 mins into the 2nd Half, a sending off, a third goal and England are totally in charge

Do you want some?

In the East Stand there were pockets of Serbian fans wearing black T-Shirts. Our Serb mate told us that they were hooligans on the government's payroll to quell any anti gov chanting

The boys in black have kicked off

The 4th goal goes in on 75 mins and Serbian heads drop

A young Serb is grappled to the ground by the security as he attempts to rip down and England flag

5:0 to England and the place is emptying fast

Another great following England

5:0 to the Ingerland

After locating the fan busses and walking through the centre

of Belgrade, we eventually find the Shandy Bar

Craig has successfully deployed the

'shirt for a lock in' campaign

Last drink before bedtime at the 'Travelling Actor' on Skardalija

Day 4: Museum of Yugoslavia, Tito and Partisan

Tito's mausoleum is located within the Museum of Yugoslavia in the House of Flowers. It is also the resting place of the First Lady of Yugoslavia, Jovanka Broz

Tito

We then headed to Partisan's ground for a photo shoot

Security allowed me to walk around the stadium and do my own thing

2 Shady Horses

The graffiti reads "Young Grave Diggers"

The Steam Roller is another symbol of the club

The famous Word Traveller's Club of Belgrade

You can even get a coffee

For dinner we found 'Klub Taverna', where we ate the first time we came here, back in 2013.

Day 5: Avala Tower. We took the No 401 bus from Bircaninova in the direction of Pinosava. It took 45 mins by bus but on the way to the bus stop we passed some interesting sights

Monument to Stefan Nemanja, a Grand Prince of Serbia who founded the Serbian Empire

The General Staff building has become a symbol of the 1999 NATO bombing campaign. It now acts as a billboard for Army recruitment and Serbian nationalism

In under an hour we visited another symbol of the NATO bombing campaign of Yugoslavia

The hiking trail up to Avala takes in 2 Spomeniks. The first is the 'Tomb of the Unknown Soldier' dedicated to victims of the Balkan Wars and WW1. The second is the 'Soviet war Veterans Monument' commemorating the 1964 aircraft crash which killed 22 Soviet dignitaries and veterans on a flight from Moscow to Belgrade. Sadly we missed these due to the storm

The Hiking trail to Avala Tower

The tower was destroyed on 29 Apr 1999 during the NATO bombing campaign. Work started on the rebuild in Dec 2006 and reopened in under 4 years on 21 April 2010