Serbia strengthened their chances of advancing to the round of 16 after striking a stunning equalizer in the 95th minute to save a 1-1 draw with Group C rivals Slovenia.
After having left-back Erik Janza to thank for salvaging a point in a 1-1 draw with Denmark the previous weekend, Slovenia depended on right-back Zan Karnicnik to break the deadlock in the match against Serbia in the middle of the second half.
At first glance, it appeared as though the team led by Matjaz Kek had done everything in their power to achieve their first-ever victory at the European Championship as an independent nation. However, Serbia had other plans and managed to sneak a point in at the very last minute.
Indeed, in the fifth and last minute of stoppage time in the second half, Serbian substitute Luka Jovic scored a goal by directing a brilliant header past Jan Oblak and into the far corner. This goal caused crazy scenes and kept Dragan Stojkovic’s team in the competition in a spectacular manner.
The draw is Slovenia’s second in Group C and leaves them with two points. Serbia, on the other hand, has now picked up their first point of Euro 2024, despite losing to England by a score of 1-0 the previous weekend. Serbia has a possibility of making it to the round of 16 for the first time in their history.
Slovenia got off to a strong start in what turned out to be a relatively boring first half-hour of play. Serbian goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic was forced to make a save from a low drive by Slovenian striker Jan Mlakar in the seventh minute of the match.
However, the game became more intense in the final fifteen minutes, with Dusan Vlahovic posing the greatest threat for Serbia. The Juventus striker came the closest to scoring when he glanced a close-range header into Oblak’s gloves. The decisive moment occurred when Vlahovic tried to score.
During the last seconds of the first half, Timi Max Elsnik came agonizingly close to scoring the first goal for Slovenia. However, his sliced strike from twenty yards out hit the inside of the post, and Benjamin Sesko was unable to convert the rebound.
The second half got off to a promising start for Serbia, with Aleksandar Mitrovic playing a neat one-two with Dusan Tadic and then firing a towering header over the crossbar. Mitrovic was denied from close range after the two players played a one-two.
Slovenia maintained their composure and replied effectively before breaking the tie in the 69th minute through an improbable source in the form of right-back Karnicnik, who had only scored once for his country in his previous 29 appearances. Karnicnik had only played for Slovenia once before.
A free-flowing move was initiated by Karnicnik, who darted 20 yards forward to start. Then, he switched the ball to Elsnik on the left flank, and Elsnik curled a wonderful cross into the path of Karnicnik. Karnicnik continued his run towards the back post, and he tapped home a first-time effort from close range.
Just three minutes later, the player who scored the first goal for Slovenia became a goal-saver due to the fact that his outstretched boot made the tiniest of touches on Mitrovic’s half-volley inside the six-yard box, which resulted in the ball rebounding off the crossbar.
Throughout a significant portion of the match, Serbia’s performance in front of the net was unsatisfactory; nonetheless, they made a concerted effort to score a late equalizer, and their perseverance was rewarded with a goal that proved to be decisive in the final action of the game.
Jovic was there to pounce, shrugging off his Slovenian opponents to drive his header into the back of the net. Ivan Ilic whipped a tempting delivery into the danger zone, and although it avoided goalkeeper Rajkovic, who had hurried forward to join in the attack, Jovic was there to pounce on it.
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