Montenegro national football team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Montenegro women's national football team.

Montenegro

Nickname(s)	Hrabri sokoli / Храбри соколи (The Brave Falcons)
Association	Football Association of Montenegro (FSCG)
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Robert Prosinečki
Captain	Stevan Jovetić
Most caps	Fatos Bećiraj (86)
Top scorer	Stevan Jovetić (35)
Home stadium	Podgorica City Stadium
FIFA code	MNE
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	70 2 (4 April 2024) [1]
Highest	16 (June 2011)
Lowest	199 (June 2007)
First international
Montenegro 2–1 Hungary   (Podgorica, Montenegro; 24 March 2007)
Biggest win
San Marino 0–6 Montenegro   (Serravalle, San Marino; 11 September 2012)
Biggest defeat
England 7–0 Montenegro   (London, England; 14 November 2019)

The Montenegro national football team (Montenegrin : Fudbalska reprezentacija Crne Gore) has represented Montenegro in men's international football since 2007. It is controlled by the Football Association of Montenegro, the governing body for football in Montenegro. Montenegro's home ground is Podgorica City Stadium in Podgorica.

Montenegro is one of the world's youngest international teams, having joined FIFA and UEFA in 2007, following the restoration of Montenegrin independence in 2006. Montenegro played its first official international match against Hungary in March 2007, and competed in their first FIFA World Cup qualifiers in 2010.

History

Formation

Montenegro national team squad in EURO 2020 qualifiers

Following the independence of Montenegro from Serbia and Montenegro, Serbia was set to represent both Serbia and Montenegro in the Euro 2008 qualifying stage. UEFA, however, would be willing to include Montenegro as a late entry if FIFA ratified a separate Montenegrin Football Association before September 2006. However, this did not occur before the competition began. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

In October 2006, Montenegro was granted provisional membership of UEFA, with a debate regarding full membership scheduled at a full UEFA Congress in January 2007. ^[5] Montenegro's first FIFA World Ranking was joint 199th place, the last place on the list by default.

First matches

Mirko Vučinić was the first captain of Montenegro

On 26 January 2007, the Montenegro FA was granted full membership of UEFA. ^[6] The team played its first FIFA-recognized friendly match against Hungary on 24 March 2007 at Stadion Pod Goricom in Podgorica. Montenegro won 2–1 in front of 12,000 spectators. Striker Mirko Vučinić scored the country's first goal in the 62nd minute. ^{[7] [8]} On 31 May 2007, Montenegro was admitted as FIFA's 208th member. ^[9] Montenegro's first coach was Zoran Filipović. In 23 matches, Filipović recorded eight victories, eight draws and seven defeats. He left in January 2010 when his contract expired. During his tenure, Montenegro rose to 73rd position in the FIFA rankings. Montenegro played at the 2007 Kirin Cup, but finished in last place behind Japan and Colombia. On 26 March 2008, Montenegro recorded one of its best results with a 3–1 win over Norway.

First competitive matches

On 6 September 2008, Montenegro played their first World Cup qualifier against Bulgaria at the Podgorica City Stadium. Bulgaria took the lead in the 11th minute with a goal from Stiliyan Petrov. Mirko Vučinić scored in the 61st minute to tie the game, before Igor Burzanović put Montenegro ahead 82nd minute from a penalty. However, a last-minute equalizer from Blagoy Georgiev denied Montenegro their first competitive win. In their next match on 10 September, they achieved another notable result when they held the Republic of Ireland to a 0–0 draw. Another near-upset came in a narrow 2–1 loss against Italy. After Alberto Aquilani's early strike, Vučinić quickly equalized, but Aquilani scored the winning goal ten minutes later. Their second match against Italy ended 2–0 in favour of the world champions. Another disappointment came when the team could only draw 0–0 against Georgia, followed by a 2–2 draw against Cyprus after being two goals down. On 5 September 2009, Montenegro took an early lead against Bulgaria in Sofia with Stevan Jovetić putting them 1–0 up, only for Bulgaria to recover and win 4–1. After drawing 1–1 with Cyprus, Montenegro finally registered their first competitive win, beating Georgia 2–1. They then drew 0–0 with the Republic of Ireland at Croke Park. They finished fifth in the group with nine points, below Cyprus on goal difference.

Golden era

During the UEFA Euro 2012 qualification campaign, the team recorded further success. They opened their campaign with a 1–0 victory over Wales; Mirko Vučinić scored the only goal. A few days later, the team defeated Bulgaria 1–0 in Sofia. The next month, they beat Switzerland 1–0 and then recorded a 0–0 draw in London against England. On 4 June 2011, Montenegro drew 1–1 against Bulgaria, with Radomir Đalović scoring for Montenegro early in the second half, but Ivelin Popov scoring minutes later, to keep Montenegro second in the group, behind England on goal difference. Montenegro were beaten 2–1 by Wales in Cardiff. They were still second in Group G, but Switzerland closed the gap between them to only three points. In the June 2011 FIFA rankings, Montenegro recorded their highest ranking of 16th. On 7 October, Montenegro came back from 2–0 down to draw 2–2 against England in Podgorica, after Wayne Rooney was sent off. Wales beat Switzerland 2–0 to ensure Montenegro won a play-off place, putting the team two matches away from qualifying for Euro 2012. In their last match in the qualifiers, Montenegro lost 2–0 to Switzerland in Basel. On 13 October, the draw for the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying play-offs was held in Kraków, Poland. Montenegro were paired with the Czech Republic, but they lost 3–0 on aggregate and failed to qualify. Montenegro were drawn in Group H in the qualifiers, along with England, Poland, Ukraine, Moldova and San Marino. In their first match, Montenegro tied against Poland in a 2–2 draw. On 11 September, Montenegro played against San Marino in Seravalle. In a one-sided match, Montenegro won 6–0, ^[10] the biggest win in the team's history. Montenegro then beat Ukraine 1–0 in Kyiv, ^[11] with the only goal scored by Dejan Damjanović. In their last match in 2012, Montenegro faced San Marino in Podgorica on 14 November, and won 3–0. Montenegro played their fifth qualifier match against Moldova in Chișinău on 22 March 2013, winning 1–0 through Mirko Vučinić's goal. Montenegro then returned to Podgorica to play the second-placed England. The outcome was a 1–1 draw. Leading their World Cup qualifying group, Montenegro hosted Ukraine on 7 June 2013. They suffered their first defeat in the group, losing 4–0. The match also saw Montenegro finish the match with nine men after Vladimir Volkov and Savo Pavićević were sent off. Their last four matches yielded just a single point; a 1–1 draw in Poland. Their 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign finished with a 5–2 home defeat to Moldova, and they finished third behind England and Ukraine.

Ups and downs

On 23 February 2014 in Nice, Montenegro were drawn for qualification in UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group G alongside Russia, Sweden, Austria, Moldova and Liechtenstein. Though they opened their campaign with a 2–0 win over Moldova, they failed to qualify with a 0–0 tie against Liechtenstein, a 1–0 loss to Austria and a 1–1 tie at home to Sweden. On 27 March 2015, Montenegro's home match against Russia was abandoned after 67 minutes due to crowd violence, after the Russian left-back Dmitri Kombarov was hit by a projectile. The score was 0–0 and Russia had missed a penalty moments before the match was abandoned. The Russian goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev was hit by a flare, causing a second 33-minute delay. ^[12] The abandoned match was ruled a 3–0 win in Russia's favour. Montenegro finished fourth at the end of the campaign and placed 95th on the FIFA ranking list. Montenegro participated in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification and were placed with Poland, Denmark, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Romania. Poland and Romania had been participants in the UEFA Euro 2016, but Montenegro began by drawing 1–1 away to Romania, beating Kazakhstan 5–0 at home and defeating Denmark 1–0. However, they then lost 3–2 away to Armenia despite leading 2–0, and were defeated 2–1 at home by Poland. Montenegro then rebounded, beating Armenia 4–1 and Kazakhstan 3–0. They later eliminated Romania with a 1–0 victory, but losses to the Danes and Poles ended Montenegro's chance of qualifying.

Having failed to reach the World Cup, Montenegro had a dismal performance in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League C. The team was grouped with Serbia, Romania and Lithuania. Montenegro only managed two victories, all against Lithuania, and suffered two losses to Serbia, one defeat to Romania at home and an away draw to the Romanian side as well. This effectively denied Montenegro a chance to qualify to the UEFA Euro 2020 playoff.

Worst campaign

The Euro 2020 qualifiers for Montenegro have been the worst in the team's short history. After an unsuccessful Nations League campaign, the team started off with a 1–1 away draw to Bulgaria, following a controversial penalty for the hosts. It was followed with a 1–5 loss at home to England despite having taken an early lead. On the day of the match with Kosovo, Serbian coach Ljubiša Tumbaković and two players originated from Serbia, due to political reasons, abandoned the national team, betraying the squad in unprecedented condition before the two crucial matches for qualifiers. Montenegro managed to avoid defeat against Kosovo (1–1), however they lost to Czech Republic 0–3. The same result occurred in the rematch, one month later. With no chances to qualify directly, Montenegro failed to win the match against last placed Bulgaria (0–0), and lost to Kosovo (0–2). At the end of their worst campaign, Montenegro suffered their biggest defeat in history. On 14 November 2019, they were defeated against England in London 7–0. Not only did they finish the qualifying campaign without a single victory, Montenegro managed to score only three goals in eight matches, but conceded 22. Also, throughout the entire qualifying campaign the team had troubles with injuries to key players, most notably Stevan Jovetić and Stefan Savić.

Comeback

The team topped the group in 2020–21 UEFA Nations League above Luxembourg, Azerbaijan and Cyprus and were promoted into League B. They were also an important team in fight to qualify for 2022 FIFA World Cup. They were 4th of 6 teams in group with Netherlands, Turkey, Norway, Latvia and Gibraltar.

Stadium and facilities

Main article: Podgorica City Stadium

Montenegro play home matches at the Podgorica City Stadium (Montenegrin : Stadion pod Goricom). The stadium's capacity is 15,230, but international matches reduce this to between 10,700 and 13,000.

Camp FSCG

Main article: Camp FSCG

The Football Association of Montenegro owns Camp FSCG, a Montenegrin training ground. Built in 2007, the centre has a total area of 54,000 square metres. ^[13] It is located on Ćemovsko polje, a plain located in the outskirts of Podgorica outskirts between the settlements of Stari Aerodrom and Konik. It consists of six pitches with stands and floodlights, ^[14] and House of Football – the seat of the Football Association of Montenegro. ^[15]

The camp currently represents an important asset for the whole Montenegrin football system. The grounds are home to all Montenegrin national teams (men and women) and numerous local teams from Podgorica. CAMP FSCG meets the criteria for Montenegrin First League games and UEFA competitions for young players.

Team image

Montenegrin supporters

Nickname

Under the official FIFA Trigramme, the team's name is abbreviated as MNE, which is also the country's ISO 3166-1 code. The team's nickname is "The Brave Falcons" (Montenegrin : Hrabri Sokoli).

Kits and colours

Montenegro's traditional home colours are red, with a gold trim. This reflects the country's flag. The team's away kits have usually been white, with a red trim.

The current kit is produced by the Italian company Legea.

Manufacturer	Period
daCapo	2007–2008
Legea	2008–present

Supporters

At competitive matches, the Montenegrin home ground Podgorica City Stadium is often filled to capacity. The stadium is regarded as too small to meet the needs of the national team. Demand for the World Cup qualifier against Italy in 2009 was 30,000 tickets; 40,000 for the Euro 2012 qualifying match against England in 2011.

Montenegro's loudest and most loyal supporters are named Ultra Crna Gora (Ултра Црна Гора; Ultra Montenegro). As an ultras group, their support consists of standing up and singing for 90 minutes both home and away. They occupy the north and south stands of Podgorica City Stadium. Choreography is usually performed at the beginning of games. Ultra Crna Gora consists of many subgroups, mostly named after Podgorica's neighborhoods and Montenegrin towns in other parts of the country.

Results and fixtures

Main article: Montenegro national football team results

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win  Draw  Loss  Fixture

2023

Montenegro   v   Hungary

17 June 2023 (2023-06-17) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	Montenegro	0–0	Hungary	Podgorica, Montenegro
18:00  UTC+2		Report		Stadium: Podgorica City Stadium Attendance: 6,761 Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano (Spain)

Montenegro   v   Czech Republic

20 June 2023 (2023-06-20) Friendly	Montenegro	1–4	Czech Republic	Podgorica, Montenegro
20:45  UTC+2	Camaj 66'	Report	Chytil 28' M. Sadílek 57' Provod 75' Hložek 85'	Stadium: Podgorica City Stadium Attendance: 1,792 Referee: Matthew De Gabriele (Malta)

Lithuania   v   Montenegro

7 September 2023 (2023-09-07) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	Lithuania	2–2	Montenegro	Kaunas, Lithuania
21:45  UTC+3	Paulauskas 71' Černych 90 +4'	Report	Krstović 78' Savić 89'	Stadium: Darius and Girėnas Stadium Attendance: 11,328 Referee: Mohammed Al-Hakim (Sweden)

Montenegro   v   Bulgaria

10 September 2023 (2023-09-10) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	Montenegro	2–1	Bulgaria	Podgorica, Montenegro
18:00  UTC+2	Savić 45+1' Jovetić 90+6'	Report	Borukov 79'	Stadium: Podgorica City Stadium Attendance: 4,232 Referee: Harm Osmers (Germany)

Montenegro   v   Lebanon

12 October 2023 (2023-10-12) Friendly	Montenegro	3–2	Lebanon	Podgorica, Montenegro
18:00  UTC+2	Kuč 16', 19' Osmajić 69'	Report	Darwich 65' Tneich 80'	Stadium: Podgorica City Stadium Attendance: 1,337 Referee: Eldorjan Hamiti (Albania)

Serbia   v   Montenegro

17 October 2023 (2023-10-17) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	Serbia	3–1	Montenegro	Belgrade, Serbia
20:45  UTC+2	Mitrović 9', 73' Tadić 77'	Report	Jovetić 36'	Stadium: Rajko Mitić Stadium Attendance: 25,884 Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland)

Montenegro   v   Lithuania

16 November 2023 (2023-11-16) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	Montenegro	2–0	Lithuania	Podgorica, Montenegro
18:00  UTC+1	Kuč 3' Jovetić 48'	Report		Stadium: Podgorica City Stadium Attendance: 3,647 Referee: Artur Soares Dias (Portugal)

Hungary   v   Montenegro

19 November 2023 (2023-11-19) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	Hungary	3–1	Montenegro	Budapest, Hungary
15:00  UTC+1	Szoboszlai 66', 68' Nagy 90+3'	Report	Rubežić 36'	Stadium: Puskás Aréna Attendance: 59,600 Referee: Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)

2024

Montenegro   v   Belarus

21 March Friendly	Montenegro	2–0	Belarus	Antalya, Turkey
18:00	Marušić 27' Krstović 45'	Report		Stadium: Mardan Sports Complex Referee: Kadir Sağlam (Turkey)

Montenegro   v   North Macedonia

25 March Friendly	Montenegro	1–0	North Macedonia	Antalya, Turkey
18:00	Jovetić 45'	Report		Stadium: Mardan Sports Complex Referee: Zorbay Küçük (Turkey)

Belgium   v   Montenegro

5 June Friendly	Belgium	v	Montenegro	Brussels, Belgium
				Stadium: King Baudouin Stadium

Montenegro   v   Georgia

9 June Friendly	Montenegro	v	Georgia	Podgorica, Montenegro
				Stadium: Podgorica City Stadium

Iceland   v   Montenegro

6 September 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B	Iceland	v	Montenegro	Iceland
18:45  UTC±0

Montenegro   v   Wales

9 September 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B	Montenegro	v	Wales	Montenegro
19:45  UTC±0

Turkey   v   Montenegro

11 October 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B	Turkey	v	Montenegro	Turkey
21:45  UTC+3

Wales   v   Montenegro

14 October 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B	Wales	v	Montenegro	Wales
19:45  UTC±0

Montenegro   v   Iceland

16 November 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B	Montenegro	v	Iceland	Montenegro
18:00  UTC+1

Montenegro   v   Turkey

19 November 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B	Montenegro	v	Turkey	Montenegro
20:45  UTC+1

Coaching history

Manager	Career	Played	Won	Draw	Lost	GF	GA	Win %
Zoran Filipović	2006–2009	23	8	8	7	28	31	34.78%
Zlatko Kranjčar	2010–2011	13	6	2	5	14	11	46.15%
Branko Brnović	2011–2015	34	11	9	14	44	50	32.35%
Ljubiša Tumbaković	2016–2019	26	7	7	12	33	33	26.92%
Miodrag Džudović	2019 (acting)	2	0	1	1	1	4	00.00%
Faruk Hadžibegić	2019–2020	13	5	4	4	13	16	38.46%
Miodrag Radulović	2020–2023	23	6	4	13	22	35	26.08%
Robert Prosinečki	2024–present	2	2	0	0	3	0	100%

Players

In international football, players can normally only play for one national team once they play in all or part of any match recognised as a full international by FIFA. However, an exception is made in cases where one or more newly independent states are created out of a former state. Based on current FIFA rules, a player will be eligible to play for Montenegro, even if he had previously represented Serbia and Montenegro or any other country, if at least one of the following statements applies: ^[16]

• The player was born in Montenegro;
• At least one of their parents and/or at least one of their grandparents was born in Montenegro;
• The player has lived in Montenegro continuously for any five-year period.

Due to mixed ancestries, it is likely that a high percentage of the players eligible to play for Montenegro will also remain eligible to play for Serbia, and vice versa. However, once they have played for either Serbia or Montenegro in any competitive fixture, they are no longer eligible to play for any other nation.

Current squad

The following players were called up for games against Belarus on 21 March and against North Macedonia on 25 March 2024. ^[17]

Caps and goals as of 25 March 2024, after the match against North Macedonia.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1 GK	Milan Mijatović	(1987-07-26) 26 July 1987 (age 36)	37	0	Železničar Pančevo
12	1 GK	Danijel Petković	(1993-05-25) 25 May 1993 (age 30)	25	0	Kisvárda
13	1 GK	Matija Šarkić	(1997-07-23) 23 July 1997 (age 26)	8	0	Millwall
15	2 DF	Stefan Savić (vice-captain)	(1991-01-08) 8 January 1991 (age 33)	73	9	Atlético Madrid
23	2 DF	Adam Marušić	(1992-10-17) 17 October 1992 (age 31)	59	4	Lazio
7	2 DF	Marko Vešović	(1991-08-28) 28 August 1991 (age 32)	52	2	Qarabağ
3	2 DF	Risto Radunović	(1992-05-04) 4 May 1992 (age 31)	35	1	FCSB
5	2 DF	Igor Vujačić	(1994-08-08) 8 August 1994 (age 29)	32	0	Rubin Kazan
2	2 DF	Andrija Vukčević	(1996-10-11) 11 October 1996 (age 27)	8	0	Juárez
6	2 DF	Marko Tući	(1998-12-04) 4 December 1998 (age 25)	4	0	Gangwon
22	2 DF	Meldin Drešković	(1998-03-26) 26 March 1998 (age 26)	2	0	Debreceni VSC
16	3 MF	Vladimir Jovović	(1994-10-26) 26 October 1994 (age 29)	56	0	Sogdiyona Jizzakh
10	3 MF	Marko Janković	(1995-07-09) 9 July 1995 (age 28)	47	1	Qarabağ
19	3 MF	Marko Bakić	(1993-11-01) 1 November 1993 (age 30)	26	0	OFI
4	3 MF	Marko Vukčević	(1993-06-07) 7 June 1993 (age 30)	21	1	Varaždin
18	3 MF	Driton Camaj	(1997-03-07) 7 March 1997 (age 27)	14	1	Kisvárda
20	3 MF	Stefan Lončar	(1996-02-19) 19 February 1996 (age 28)	14	0	Debreceni VSC
14	3 MF	Edvin Kuč	(1993-10-27) 27 October 1993 (age 30)	5	3	Ballkani
27	3 MF	Demir Škrijelj	(1997-07-10) 10 July 1997 (age 26)	1	0	Mornar Bar
24	3 MF	Miloš Brnović	(2000-04-26) 26 April 2000 (age 23)	1	0	Budućnost Podgorica
8	4 FW	Stevan Jovetić (captain)	(1989-11-02) 2 November 1989 (age 34)	76	35	Olympiacos
9	4 FW	Stefan Mugoša	(1992-02-23) 23 February 1992 (age 32)	54	15	Incheon United
11	4 FW	Nikola Krstović	(2000-04-05) 5 April 2000 (age 24)	16	3	Lecce
21	4 FW	Dušan Bakić	(1999-02-23) 23 February 1999 (age 25)	7	0	Omonia Nicosia
17	4 FW	Viktor Đukanović	(2004-01-29) 29 January 2004 (age 20)	4	0	Hammarby

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called on the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Filip Đukić	(1999-08-06) 6 August 1999 (age 24)	1	0	Hvidovre	v.   Hungary , 19 November 2023
GK	Nikola Ivezić	(2003-04-01) 1 April 2003 (age 21)	0	0	Lommel	v.   Hungary , 19 November 2023
GK	Suad Ličina	(1995-02-08) 8 February 1995 (age 29)	0	0	Mladost DG	v.   Serbia , 17 October 2023
GK	Miloš Dragojević	(1989-02-03) 3 February 1989 (age 35)	2	0	Budućnost Podgorica	v.   Bulgaria , 10 September 2023
GK	Lazar Carević	(1999-03-16) 16 March 1999 (age 25)	2	0	Vojvodina	v.   Hungary , 17 June 2023PRE
DF	Žarko Tomašević	(1990-02-22) 22 February 1990 (age 34)	64	5	Free Agent	v.   Hungary , 19 November 2023
DF	Miloš Milović	(1995-12-22) 22 December 1995 (age 28)	4	0	Qingdao Hainiu	v.   Hungary , 19 November 2023
DF	Slobodan Rubežić	(2000-03-21) 21 March 2000 (age 24)	3	1	Aberdeen	v.   Hungary , 19 November 2023
DF	Nikola Šipčić	(1995-05-17) 17 May 1995 (age 28)	7	0	Tenerife	v.   Lebanon , 12 October 2023INJ
DF	Jonathan Drešaj	(2000-03-15) 15 March 2000 (age 24)	0	0	Dečić	v.   Czech Republic , 20 June 2023
MF	Andrija Radulović	(2002-07-03) 3 July 2002 (age 21)	3	0	Vojvodina	v.   Belarus , 21 March 2024INJ
MF	Miloš Raičković	(1993-10-02) 2 October 1993 (age 30)	18	0	Budućnost	v.   Hungary , 19 November 2023
MF	Vladan Bubanja	(1999-02-21) 21 February 1999 (age 25)	1	0	Lokomotiva	v.   Hungary , 19 November 2023
MF	Nebojša Kosović	(1995-02-24) 24 February 1995 (age 29)	33	1	Meizhou Hakka	v.   Serbia , 17 October 2023
MF	Aleksandar Šćekić	(1991-12-12) 12 December 1991 (age 32)	40	0	Partizan	v.   Bulgaria , 10 September 2023
MF	Sead Hakšabanović	(1999-05-04) 4 May 1999 (age 24)	33	1	Stoke City	v.   Bulgaria , 10 September 2023
MF	Vukan Savićević	(1994-01-29) 29 January 1994 (age 30)	19	0	Vojvodina	v.   Bulgaria , 10 September 2023
MF	Novica Eraković	(1999-11-12) 12 November 1999 (age 24)	4	0	Omonia	v.   Czech Republic , 20 June 2023
FW	Milutin Osmajić	(1999-07-25) 25 July 1999 (age 24)	22	2	Preston North End	v.   Belarus , 21 March 2024INJ
FW	Uroš Đurđević	(1994-03-02) 2 March 1994 (age 30)	12	0	Sporting Gijón	v.   Bulgaria , 10 September 2023
Notes INJ = Withdrew due to injury PRE = Preliminary squad/standby RET = Retired from the national team SUS = Serving suspension WD = Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.

Player records

Main article: Montenegro national football team records and statistics

As of 25 March 2024 ^[18]

Players in bold are still active with Montenegro.

Most appearances

Fatos Bećiraj is Montenegro's most capped player.

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Fatos Bećiraj	86	15	2009–2022
2	Stevan Jovetić	76	35	2007–present
3	Stefan Savić	73	9	2010–present
4	Žarko Tomašević	64	5	2010–present
5	Elsad Zverotić	61	5	2008–2017
6	Adam Marušić	59	4	2015–present
7	Vladimir Jovović	56	0	2013–present
8	Stefan Mugoša	54	15	2015–present
9	Marko Vešović	52	2	2013–present
10	Nikola Vukčević	51	1	2014–present

Top goalscorers

Stevan Jovetić is the national team top scorer.

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Average	Career
1	Stevan Jovetić	35	76	0.46	2007–present
2	Mirko Vučinić	17	46	0.37	2007–2017
3	Stefan Mugoša	15	54	0.28	2015–present
	Fatos Bećiraj	15	86	0.17	2009–2022
5	Stefan Savić	9	73	0.12	2010–present
6	Dejan Damjanović	8	30	0.27	2008–2015
7	Radomir Đalović	7	26	0.27	2007–2012
8	Andrija Delibašić	6	21	0.29	2009–2013
9	Elsad Zverotić	5	61	0.08	2008–2017
	Žarko Tomašević	5	64	0.08	2014–present

Competitive record

Montenegro have participated in seven qualification rounds for World Cup or European Championship tournaments. Montenegro have never qualified, and their biggest success was reaching the play-offs for Euro 2012.^{[ citation needed ]}
Montenegro first tried to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but they finished fifth in their group. They had more success in the Euro 2012 qualifiers, when they finished second in their group to reach the play-offs, but lost to the Czech Republic.^{[ citation needed ]}
In the qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup, Montenegro finished third, and two years later, in the qualifiers for Euro 2016, they finished fourth in their group. They again finished third in their 2018 World Cup qualifying group. Worst performance came in the qualifiers for Euro 2020, as Montenegro finished last-placed in the group without single victory.^{[ citation needed ]}

Competition	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
FIFA World Cup qualifiers	40	13	13	14	61	58	+3
UEFA European Championship qualifiers	43	8	9	16	25	51	−26
UEFA Nations League	16	7	3	6	20	12	+8
Friendly games	52	20	13	18	62	62	0
Overall	140	47	39	54	166	183	−17

Updated: 25 March 2024

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record										Qualification record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930 to 1938	Part of   Yugoslavia									Part of   Yugoslavia
1950 to 1990	Part of   Yugoslavia									Part of   Yugoslavia
1994 to 2002	Part of   Yugoslavia									Part of   Yugoslavia
2006	Part of   Serbia and Montenegro									Part of   Serbia and Montenegro
2010	Did not qualify									5th	10	1	6	3	9	14
2014										3rd	10	4	3	3	18	17
2018										3rd	10	5	1	4	20	12
2022										4th	10	3	3	4	14	15
2026	To be determined									To be determined
2030
2034
Total	0/4									—	40	13	13	14	61	58

UEFA European Championship

UEFA European Championship record										Qualification record								Qualification play-offs record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pos.	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1960	Part of   Yugoslavia									Part of   Yugoslavia								Part of   Yugoslavia
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996	Part of   Yugoslavia									Part of   Yugoslavia								Part of   Yugoslavia
2000
2004	Part of   Serbia and Montenegro									Part of   Serbia and Montenegro								Part of   Serbia and Montenegro
2008	Did not enter									Did not enter								—
2012	Did not qualify									PO	8	3	3	2	7	7		2	0	0	2	0	3
2016										4th	10	3	2	5	10	13		—
2020										5th	8	0	3	5	3	22
2024										3rd	8	3	2	3	9	11
2028	To be determined									To be determined								To be determined
2032
Total	0/4									—	34	9	10	15	29	53		2	0	0	2	0	3

UEFA Nations League

UEFA Nations League record
Season	Division	Group	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	P/R	RK
2018–19	C	4	6	2	1	3	7	6		35th
2020–21	C	1	6	4	1	1	10	2		34th
2022–23	B	3	6	2	1	3	6	6		28th
2024–25	B	4	To be determined
Total			18	8	3	7	23	14	28th

Head-to-head record

Below is a summary of Montenegrin national team results against every opponent country.

As of 25 March 2024

Opponent	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Albania	2	0	0	2	2	4	−2	000.00
Armenia	3	1	0	2	6	5	+1	033.33
Austria	2	0	0	2	2	4	−2	000.00
Azerbaijan	3	2	1	0	4	0	+4	066.67
Belarus	5	3	2	0	6	1	+5	060.00
Belgium	1	0	1	0	2	2	+0	000.00
Bosnia and Herzegovina	4	0	3	1	1	2	−1	000.00
Bulgaria	8	3	4	1	9	9	+0	037.50
Colombia	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	000.00
Cyprus	5	2	3	0	9	3	+6	040.00
Czech Republic	5	0	0	5	1	13	−12	000.00
Denmark	3	1	0	2	2	3	−1	033.33
England	6	0	3	3	5	19	−14	000.00
Estonia	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100.00
Finland	2	0	0	2	0	4	−4	000.00
Georgia	2	1	1	0	2	1	+1	050.00
Ghana	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100.00
Gibraltar	2	2	0	0	7	1	+6	100.00
Greece	2	1	0	1	2	2	+0	050.00
Hungary	5	2	2	1	8	8	+0	040.00
Iceland	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	100.00
Israel	1	0	0	1	1	3	−2	000.00
Iran	2	0	1	1	1	2	−1	000.00
Italy	2	0	0	2	1	4	−3	000.00
Japan	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2	000.00
Kazakhstan	4	3	1	0	11	0	+11	075.00
Kosovo	2	0	1	1	1	3	−2	000.00
Latvia	4	2	2	0	5	2	+3	050.00
Lebanon	1	1	0	0	3	2	+1	100.00
Liechtenstein	2	1	1	0	2	0	+2	050.00
Lithuania	4	3	1	0	10	3	+7	075.00
Luxembourg	3	2	0	1	6	3	+3	066.67
Moldova	4	3	0	1	7	5	+2	075.00
North Macedonia	4	2	0	2	5	7	−2	050.00
Netherlands	2	0	1	1	2	6	−4	000.00
Northern Ireland	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	100.00
Norway	4	1	0	3	4	6	−2	025.00
Poland	4	0	2	2	6	9	−3	000.00
Republic of Ireland	2	0	2	0	0	0	+0	000.00
Romania	7	3	2	2	7	6	+1	042.86
Russia	2	0	0	2	0	5	−5	000.00
San Marino	2	2	0	0	9	0	+9	100.00
Serbia	4	0	0	4	2	9	−7	000.00
Slovakia	2	0	1	1	2	4	−2	000.00
Slovenia	3	0	1	2	1	4	−3	000.00
Sweden	3	0	1	2	3	6	−3	000.00
Switzerland	2	1	0	1	1	2	−1	050.00
Turkey	4	0	2	2	5	7	−2	000.00
Ukraine	2	1	0	1	1	4	−3	050.00
Uzbekistan	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100.00
Wales	3	2	0	1	4	3	+1	066.67
51 Teams	146	50	39	57	175	190	−15	034.25

FIFA rankings

Main article: Montenegro national football team records and statistics

See also

• Association football portal

• Montenegro men's national football team results
• Montenegro men's national football team records and statistics
• List of Montenegro international footballers
• Montenegro women's national football team
• Montenegro women's national under-17 football team
• Football in Montenegro
• Sport in Montenegro

References

1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
2. "Serbia to take spot in Euro 2008". BBC Sport. 23 May 2006. Archived from the original on 2 September 2006. Retrieved 11 April 2007.
3. UEFA.com (2007-01-26). "Montenegro named UEFA member | Inside UEFA". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
4. Frylan, Kevin (August 9, 2007). "UEFA admits Montenegro". Reuters . Retrieved January 6, 2024.
5. Mark Chaplin (2006). "No decision yet on Gibraltar". UEFA.com. Archived from the original on 28 November 2006. Retrieved 11 April 2007.
6. Simon Hart (2007). "UEFA to consider 24-team EURO". UEFA.com. UEFA. Archived from the original on 19 February 2007. Retrieved 11 April 2007.
7. "Soccer-Montenegro beat Hungary 2–1 in international debut". Reuters.co.uk. Reuters. 24 March 2007. Archived from the original on 11 January 2009. Retrieved 11 April 2007.
8. "Montenegro take a bow with victory". UEFA.com. UEFA. 2007. Archived from the original on 4 June 2007. Retrieved 11 April 2007.
9. "Blatter's third term confirmed". FIFA.com. FIFA. 2007. Archived from the original on June 3, 2007. Retrieved 17 October 2007.
10. "Crna Gora ubjedljiva protiv San Marina - pukla šestica, oboren rekord". vijesti.me (in Montenegrin). Vijesti. 11 September 2012. Archived from the original on 19 September 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
11. "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil – Matches – Ukraine-Montenegro". FIFA.com. FIFA. 16 October 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2016.^{[ dead link ]}
12. "Montenegro Arrests Fans for Football Violence". balkaninsight.com. Balkan Insight. 31 March 2015. Archived from the original on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
13. "Sportski objekti na teritoriji Glavnog grada Podgorica". Archived from the original on 2023-04-27. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
14. "Fudbalski savez Crne Gore". Archived from the original on 2014-06-05. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
15. "VIDEO: Zavirite u novu Kuću fudbala - CDM". Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
16. FIFA.com
17. "PROSINEČKI POZVAO 25 IGRAČA" (in Serbian). 7 March 2024. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
18. Mamrud, Roberto. "Montenegro - Record International Players". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2023-02-02.

External links

• Football Association of Montenegro (in Montenegrin)
• Montenegro on FIFA.com (in English)
• Montenegro on UEFA.com (in English)
• List of players (in English)
• Montenegro national team match reports (in English)