Serbian national football team coach Dragan Stojković said that he offered his resignation to the leaders of the Serbian Football Association tonight after the defeat to Albania in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers and that he will not travel with the team to Andorra for the next match.
"I had a conversation with the president and general secretary of the FSS, I offered my resignation. Of course, I did not expect this defeat, and against a team that is the main rival for second place. I am someone who takes absolute responsibility, I am the only one to blame for that, and don't worry. I am sorry that we lost the game, but that is how it is in sports, life and football. As a responsible person, and I have shown that many times so far, I offered my resignation," Stojković said at a press conference in Leskovac.
Serbian football players lost to Albania 0:1 tonight in Leskovac, in a Group K match in the qualifiers for next summer's World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
Fans in Leskovac called on Stojković to leave the national team.
"I am the biggest culprit and that is my responsibility. You have to look the truth in the eye. I am not here to blame the players, the guys tried, fought, ran, what we did, agreed, but that is not enough, I stand 100 percent in their protection. I have been here since 2021. We had many great games, results, managed to make the nation happy. Now we have failed, I am here to bear the consequences without looking for an alibi," he said.
The team travels to Andorra on Sunday, where they will play the second match in the October qualifying cycle on Tuesday. Stojković said that he would not travel with the team, and then, when asked what would happen if the FSS did not accept his resignation, he said that he would not be with the players.
"I will not travel 99,9 percent to Andorra in this kind of environment. I have been feeling very bad for a long time. The whole environment is very strange, I am being called various nicknames, even though I do nothing other than football, people give themselves the right to insult and use inappropriate words. I don't think I deserve it. I endured this as much as I could, but this is a defeat that hurts my soul," he said.
"We're traveling to Andorra tomorrow, I insisted on that during a conversation with Džajić and Radujka, that's fair of me because it's not nice to resign to the media, the institution must be respected to the fullest. I called them to tell them my thoughts. There's no bad blood, nor does anyone need to be torn off, spat on, insulted, these are things that happen, you have ups and downs. I'm just sorry that those three points practically led us to the play-offs," he added.
Stojković said that it would be completely irrational for him to travel with the team, that the leaders of the Federation listened to him and that the national team would be led by his assistant Goran Đorović.
"I assume they will say something about this, it's all life and there's no need to make too much of a fuss about it," he added.
"The decision is in place, I made it without any pressure. I am very sober and concentrated and I am careful what I say," said Stojković.
When asked if he had lost control of the team, Stojković got a little angry with the journalist, and then apologized.
"You keep asking stupid questions. How did I lose? Did you see that on the field, that someone was fighting? It's not right to ask me that. Ask the players, if someone says that's not true, undo everything I've done so far. Sorry for saying that the question is stupid. I'm here to bear the consequences, it's not a tragedy when the coach leaves, I will always be a fan of the national team. I had 120 percent control over the team, that's not a question, if I felt it for the first time, I would leave. But ask the players, they will give you the best answer," said Stojković.
Asked if all the decisions regarding the lineup were his, he replied: "One hundred percent."
"It's my decision to give them a chance, we've had problems with injuries and players not playing. It's my responsibility. Do you really think someone is making decisions for me? It might seem strange to you, I stand behind everything I've done, I've made decisions exclusively. I probably made mistakes somewhere, but there were a lot of good things. Only a cynic could not accept that," he said.
"Football is played for goals, we try to create, do we have better players - I don't know, this was my choice. I believed that I could solve this challenge in our favor. Either I made a mistake in choosing players or I don't know what it is. I will leave proud, it was a great privilege to be the coach of my country for a long period. Someone will analyze whether it was something good, whether there were good things, I think it was. This should not have happened, to lose the game," added Stojković.
He was asked why he decided to let young Vasilije Kostov, whom he brought into the game in the 75th minute, decide the game.
"Jamal didn't play either, so he plays for the A team. I didn't have too many options on the bench, he's a player who has offensive characteristics. What he played in Red Star and the Nations League was impressive to me. It's not a question of age, it's just the way it is," he added.
Stojković said that it was his pleasure and privilege to lead Serbia in more than 50 matches and emphasized: "I have always made decisions alone, without any interference from anyone or anything, I never do that."
"If we had drawn, it wouldn't have been a tragedy, but losing at home to a direct rival leaves a bitter taste. Don't doubt that I'm not aware of the situation. I wish the players all the best, that they bring victories. I apologize to the entire nation for the defeat and thank them for the support I've had for more than four and a half years. I told the players to keep their heads up, that football is made up of victories and defeats, good and not so good moments," said Stojković.
Serbia is third in the Group K standings with seven points from five matches, while Albania is second with 11 points and a match in hand.
England is in first place with 15 points from five matches, Latvia has played six matches and won five points, and last-placed Andorra has one point from six matches.
The first-place teams from each group will qualify directly for the World Cup, while the second-place teams will play in a play-off.
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