UEFA Nations League

Serbia vs Netherlands, 2026-27 UEFA Nations League, League Phase

· UEFA Nations League
Serbia
  • 46': Luka Jovic
FT
1 - 2
Netherlands
  • 30': Mexx Meerdink (P)
  • 69': Mexx Meerdink

Xavi gets 1st Netherlands win with Meerdink brace in Serbia

Mexx Meerdink scored twice as the Netherlands beat Serbia 2-1 away in the Nations League on Sunday, giving new coach Xavi Hernándeez his first win in charge.

Match Commentary

  • 0': Lineups are announced and players are warming up.
  • 0': First Half begins.
  • 3': Attempt blocked. Cody Gakpo (Netherlands) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Tijjani Reijnders.
  • 6': Attempt missed. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Serbia) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left misses to the right. Assisted by Aleksa Terzic.
  • 8': Handball by Kosta Nedeljkovic (Serbia).
  • 12': Foul by Sasa Lukic (Serbia).
  • 12': Cody Gakpo (Netherlands) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
  • 12': Sasa Lukic (Serbia) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
  • 15': Attempt missed. Mexx Meerdink (Netherlands) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Cody Gakpo with a cross.
  • 17': Attempt saved. Dejan Joveljic (Serbia) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal by Bart Verbruggen (Netherlands). Assisted by Kosta Nedeljkovic.
  • 17': Substitution, Netherlands. Ruben van Bommel replaces Cody Gakpo because of an injury.
  • 18': Attempt saved. Mexx Meerdink (Netherlands) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner by Vanja Milinkovic-Savic (Serbia). Assisted by Tijjani Reijnders with a headed pass.
  • 20': Attempt saved. Tijjani Reijnders (Netherlands) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal by Vanja Milinkovic-Savic (Serbia). Assisted by Joey Veerman.
  • 20': Offside, Serbia. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is caught offside.
  • 20': Corner, Netherlands. Conceded by Srdjan Babic.
  • 21': Attempt blocked. Ruben van Bommel (Netherlands) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Tijjani Reijnders.
  • 26': Attempt missed. Ryan Gravenberch (Netherlands) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Mexx Meerdink with a headed pass.
  • 27': Foul by Strahinja Pavlovic (Serbia).
  • 27': Ryan Gravenberch (Netherlands) wins a free kick on the right wing.
  • 28': Penalty conceded by Aleksa Terzic (Serbia) after a foul in the penalty area.
  • 28': Penalty Netherlands. Crysencio Summerville draws a foul in the penalty area.
  • 30': Goal! Serbia 0, Netherlands 1. Mexx Meerdink (Netherlands) converts the penalty with a left footed shot to the bottom right corner.
  • 31': Offside, Serbia. Aleksa Terzic is caught offside.
  • 31': Nemanja Gudelj (Serbia) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
  • 31': Foul by Mexx Meerdink (Netherlands).
  • 34': Foul by Dejan Joveljic (Serbia).
  • 34': Micky van de Ven (Netherlands) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
  • 35': Attempt blocked. Tijjani Reijnders (Netherlands) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
  • 35': Corner, Netherlands. Conceded by Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
  • 38': Attempt saved. Denzel Dumfries (Netherlands) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner by Vanja Milinkovic-Savic (Serbia). Assisted by Mexx Meerdink.
  • 38': Corner, Netherlands. Conceded by Vanja Milinkovic-Savic.
  • 38': Attempt missed. Jan Paul van Hecke (Netherlands) header from the centre of the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Joey Veerman with a cross following a corner.
  • 42': Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Serbia) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
  • 42': Foul by Joey Veerman (Netherlands).
  • 45': Fourth official has announced 1 minutes of added time.
  • 45'+1': First Half ends, Serbia 0, Netherlands 1.
  • 45': Substitution, Serbia. Dusan Tadic replaces Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
  • 45': Substitution, Serbia. Luka Jovic replaces Dejan Joveljic.
  • 45': Second Half begins Serbia 0, Netherlands 1.
  • 46': Attempt saved. Luka Jovic (Serbia) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner by Bart Verbruggen (Netherlands). Assisted by Dusan Tadic.
  • 46': Attempt saved. Andrija Zivkovic (Serbia) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner by Bart Verbruggen (Netherlands).
  • 46': Attempt missed. Sasa Lukic (Serbia) left footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right.
  • 46': Goal! Serbia 1, Netherlands 1. Luka Jovic (Serbia) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Sasa Lukic.Goal confirmed following VAR Review.
  • 49': Dusan Tadic (Serbia) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
  • 49': Foul by Ryan Gravenberch (Netherlands).
  • 51': Attempt blocked. Tijjani Reijnders (Netherlands) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Joey Veerman.
  • 53': Ruben van Bommel (Netherlands) hits the left post with a right footed shot from the centre of the box. Assisted by Denzel Dumfries.
  • 54': Handball by Denzel Dumfries (Netherlands).
  • 55': Foul by Strahinja Pavlovic (Serbia).
  • 55': Ryan Gravenberch (Netherlands) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
  • 56': Attempt blocked. Ruben van Bommel (Netherlands) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Tijjani Reijnders.
  • 56': Attempt blocked. Tijjani Reijnders (Netherlands) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Joey Veerman.
  • 57': Strahinja Pavlovic (Serbia) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
  • 57': Foul by Joey Veerman (Netherlands).
  • 59': Attempt missed. Tijjani Reijnders (Netherlands) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Denzel Dumfries with a cross.
  • 59': Substitution, Serbia. Nemanja Maksimovic replaces Aleksandar Stankovic.
  • 59': Substitution, Serbia. Strahinja Erakovic replaces Kosta Nedeljkovic.
  • 60': Andrija Zivkovic (Serbia) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
  • 60': Foul by Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands).
  • 62': Attempt blocked. Mexx Meerdink (Netherlands) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Ruben van Bommel.
  • 62': Luka Jovic (Serbia) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
  • 62': Foul by Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands).
  • 64': Attempt missed. Tijjani Reijnders (Netherlands) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Denzel Dumfries with a cross.
  • 64': Offside, Netherlands. Ryan Gravenberch is caught offside.
  • 65': Attempt saved. Ryan Gravenberch (Netherlands) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal by Vanja Milinkovic-Savic (Serbia). Assisted by Ruben van Bommel.
  • 67': Substitution, Netherlands. Kenneth Taylor replaces Tijjani Reijnders.
  • 67': Substitution, Netherlands. Guus Til replaces Ryan Gravenberch.
  • 68': Attempt blocked. Crysencio Summerville (Netherlands) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Mexx Meerdink.
  • 69': Goal! Serbia 1, Netherlands 2. Mexx Meerdink (Netherlands) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Guus Til.
  • 70': Srdjan Babic (Serbia) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
  • 70': Foul by Mexx Meerdink (Netherlands).
  • 71': Substitution, Serbia. Filip Kostic replaces Strahinja Pavlovic.
  • 72': Attempt missed. Kenneth Taylor (Netherlands) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Ruben van Bommel.
  • 76': Corner, Netherlands. Conceded by Nemanja Gudelj.
  • 76': Attempt blocked. Guus Til (Netherlands) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked.
  • 77': Attempt blocked. Luka Jovic (Serbia) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Dusan Tadic with a cross.
  • 77': Corner, Serbia. Conceded by Micky van de Ven.
  • 78': Attempt missed. Luka Jovic (Serbia) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Dusan Tadic with a cross following a corner.
  • 80': Offside, Netherlands. Kenneth Taylor is caught offside.
  • 80': Substitution, Netherlands. Quinten Timber replaces Mexx Meerdink.
  • 80': Substitution, Netherlands. Jurriën Timber replaces Denzel Dumfries.
  • 80': Offside, Serbia. Luka Jovic is caught offside.
  • 81': Foul by Dusan Tadic (Serbia).
  • 81': Joey Veerman (Netherlands) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
  • 82': Attempt blocked. Joey Veerman (Netherlands) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Jurriën Timber.
  • 83': Sasa Lukic (Serbia) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
  • 83': Foul by Kenneth Taylor (Netherlands).
  • 84': Offside, Serbia. Andrija Zivkovic is caught offside.
  • 85': Filip Kostic (Serbia) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
  • 85': Foul by Crysencio Summerville (Netherlands).
  • 85': Jurriën Timber (Netherlands) is shown the yellow card.
  • 89': Attempt saved. Filip Kostic (Serbia) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal by Bart Verbruggen (Netherlands). Assisted by Andrija Zivkovic.
  • 89': Corner, Serbia. Conceded by Bart Verbruggen.
  • 89': Attempt saved. Luka Jovic (Serbia) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal by Bart Verbruggen (Netherlands). Assisted by Dusan Tadic with a cross.
  • 90': Attempt saved. Ruben van Bommel (Netherlands) left footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is saved in the bottom left corner by Vanja Milinkovic-Savic (Serbia). Assisted by Guus Til.
  • 90': Fourth official has announced 3 minutes of added time.
  • 90'+1': Corner, Serbia. Conceded by Virgil van Dijk.
  • 90'+2': Attempt missed. Luka Jovic (Serbia) right footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is too high. Assisted by Andrija Zivkovic with a cross following a corner.
  • 90'+2': Attempt saved. Crysencio Summerville (Netherlands) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner by Vanja Milinkovic-Savic (Serbia). Assisted by Joey Veerman.
  • 90'+3': Second Half ends, Serbia 1, Netherlands 2.
  • 0': Match ends, Serbia 1, Netherlands 2.

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/countries/500/ned.png&h=25&scale=crop&w=25&location=originNED SRBhttps://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/countries/500/sba.png&h=25&scale=crop&w=25&location=origin
10 Fouls 7
1 Yellow Cards 1
0 Red Cards 0
2 Offsides 4
4 Corner Kicks 3
5 Saves 6
67.2 Possession 32.8
25 SHOTS 11
8 ON GOAL 6
0.3 On Target % 0.5
0 Penalty Goals 0
1 Penalty Kicks Taken 0
572 Accurate Passes 233
636 Passes 303
0.9 Pass Completion % 0.8
6 Accurate Crosses 4
16 Crosses 11
0.4 Cross % 0.4
34 Long Balls 40
17 Accurate Long Balls 17
0.5 Long Balls % 0.4
10 Blocked Shots 1
8 Effective Tackles 11
14 Tackles 17
0.6 Tackle % 0.6
6 Interceptions 9
29 Effective Clearances 20
29 Clearances 20

Game Information

Competition: UEFA Nations League

Venue: Rajko Mitic Stadium
Location: Belgrade, Serbia
Attendance: 15,212

UEFA Nations League Standings

# TEAM GP GD PTS
1 Netherlands 4 +2 8
2 Greece 4 +2 8
3 Germany 4 +1 5
4 Serbia 4 -5 0
Full Standings

Line-Ups

SRB Serbia (5-4-1)

No. Name
23 Vanja Milinkovic-Savic (GK)
15 Srjdan Babic
3 Strahinja Pavlovic
6 Nemanja Gudelj
17 Aleksa Terzic
2 Kosta Nedeljkovic
22 Sasa Lukic Yellow Card
7 Aleksandar Stankovic
20 Sergej Milinkovic-Savic
14 Andrija Zivkovic
9 Dejan Joveljic
Serbia Substitutes:
Mihajlo Cvetkovic, Luka Jovic, Nemanja Maksimovic, Djordje Petrovic, Dusan Tadic, Stefan Dzodic, Nikola Simic, Lazar Samardzic, Vanja Dragojevic, Filip Stankovic, Filip Kostic, Strahinja Erakovic.

NED Netherlands (4-3-3)

No. Name
1 Bart Verbruggen (GK)
4 Virgil van Dijk
6 Jan Paul van Hecke
15 Micky van de Ven
22 Denzel Dumfries
18 Joey Veerman
14 Tijjani Reijnders
8 Ryan Gravenberch
17 Mexx Meerdink
11 Cody Gakpo
7 Crysencio Summerville
Netherlands Substitutes:
Mark Flekken, Jorrel Hato, Quinten Timber, Kenneth Taylor, Joshua Zirkzee, Guus Til, Robin Roefs, Jurriën Timber, Ruben Van Bommel, Teun Koopmeiners, Noa Lang, Nathan Aké.

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