Robert Prosinecki He is ready to partially push the teenagers into the fire in the duel against the Czech Republic and thus at least begin the process of team reconstruction, which is inevitably waiting for our selection around the corner - whatever happens tonight, whatever happens until the end of the World Cup qualifiers.
Andrija Bulatović, the 18-year-old Lens midfielder, one of the leaders of the "class of 2006" that earlier this year became our first selection (U19) to qualify for the European Championship, will play tonight from the first minute, and Vasilije Adžić (Juventus) i Milan Roganović (Partizan) will wait for his chance from the bench. A little older Milan Vukotić (22) had already been a starter in the previous two matches, against the Faroe Islands in Nikšić and the Czech Republic in Plzen.
The introduction of younger players, which, it seems, has been delayed for a long time, and Prosinecki has been criticized for not launching Adžić and Bulatović in June, in a duel that was lost too easily in Plzen, should not disrupt the competitive ambitions, which are certainly there: Montenegro will, namely, try to beat the Czech Republic, for the first time in history, and at the seventh attempt, and thus take command in the fight for second place and a place in the play-offs of the World Cup qualifiers.
Prosinecki is pushing Bulatovic from the start, not only for the future, but also for the present - it is clear, namely, that in that position, a classic midfielder, there is currently no better player to pair him with. Marko Janković.
Maybe Adžić would start too, if he had at least played a few minutes for Juventus in Serie A this season, but he hasn't yet...
- The younger players are ready and eager and will certainly, if given the chance, give their maximum - said Prosinecki at the press conference.
- These are talented guys who play in clubs, except for Adžić who doesn't have much playing time at Juventus. We expect him to start playing, he's registered for the Champions League, which means they're thinking about him, and we know how talented he is and how much he can contribute. Bulatović is with the team in Lens, and the duo from Partizan Roganović - Vukotić is playing standard and very well. Vukotić is the engine of this young team and can certainly contribute to the national team - explained Prosinecki, who is not counting on the goalkeeper in tonight's key qualifying match Igor Nikić, then Adam Marušić, Risto Radunović, Milutin Osmajić i Andrija Radulović.
Injuries and absences, as always, shape the team, so Prosinecki will return to goal Danijela Petković, the goalkeeper of Latvian Liepaja, who last got a chance to defend two years ago in a friendly match with Lebanon (October 2023), and in the last five years - since 2020, he has defended only once.
Robi dictated the starting 11 at the conference - apart from Petković, he will start Marko Vukcevic, Stefan Savic, Igor Vujacic i Andrija Vukcevic lastly, Andrija Bulatović, Miloš Brnović, Marko Jankovic and Milan Vukotić in midfield, and Stevan jovetić i Nikola Krstović in attack.
The Czech Republic has defeated Montenegro all six times so far. This has been repeated often in recent days because it is the worst record our team has had against any opponent.
Will the number seven be lucky?
- The Czech Republic is a black cat for our team, but we are playing in front of our audience, I believe that the fans will recognize the moment and support us, because this is the most important match for the national team in the qualifiers so far. If we win, we would have a serious chance to fight for a place in the World Cup - Prosinecki emphasized.
So, there are no calculations against a dangerous and serious team, which admittedly lost 5:1 to Croatia in Osijek just three days after beating Montenegro in June.
- The Czech Republic is a very good team, that 5:1 defeat to Croatia is not their true image. They were physically superior against us in the first match, they are also dangerous from set pieces, that's how they scored for both us and Croatia. That's their strongest weapon. I believe we can play a good game, we are only interested in winning, there are no calculations - said Prosinecki at the end.
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