Yugoslavia national football team
The Yugoslavia national football team represented Yugoslavia in international association football.
Although the team mainly represented the pre-war Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the post-war Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, various iterations of the state were formally constituted in football, including the:
- Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
- Kingdom of Yugoslavia
- Democratic Federal Yugoslavia
- Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia
- Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Serbia national football team inherited Yugoslavia's spot within FIFA and UEFA and is considered by both organisations as the only successor of Yugoslavia.
History
The first national team was in the kingdom that existed between the two world wars. The Football Federation of what was then the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was founded in Zagreb in 1919 under the name Jugoslovenski nogometni savez, and the national team played its first international game at the Summer Olympics in Antwerp in 1920. The opponent was Czechoslovakia, and the historic starting eleven that represented Kingdom of SCS on its debut were: Dragutin Vrđuka, Vjekoslav Župančić, Jaroslav Šifer, Stanko Tavčar, Slavin Cindrić, Rudolf Rupec, Dragutin Vragović, Artur Dubravčić, Emil Perška, Ivan Granec, and Jovan Ružić. They lost by a huge margin 0–7, but nonetheless got their names in the history books.1930 World Cup
In 1929, the country was renamed to Yugoslavia and the football association became Fudbalski Savez Jugoslavije and ordered to move its headquarters from Zagreb to Belgrade. The national team participated at the 1930 FIFA World Cup, finishing in fourth place. In its first ever World Cup match in Montevideo's Parque Central, Yugoslavia managed a famous 2–1 win versus mighty Brazil, with the following starting eleven representing the country: Milovan Jakšić, Branislav Sekulić, Aleksandar Tirnanić, Milutin Ivković, Ivica Bek, Momčilo Đokić, Blagoje Marjanović, Milorad Arsenijević, Đorđe Vujadinović, Dragoslav Mihajlović, and Ljubiša Stefanović. The team was the youngest squad at the inaugural World Cup at an average age of just under 22 years old, and became quite popular amongst the Uruguayan public, who dubbed them "Los Ichachos". The national team consisted of players based in Serbian football clubs, while the Zagreb Subassociation forbid players from Croatian clubs, some of whom were regulars in the national team until then, to play in the World Cup due to the relocation of football association's headquarters from Zagreb to Belgrade.Silver Medal at 1948 Summer Olympics
Yugoslavia began their football campaign by defeating Luxembourg 6–1, with five different players scoring the goals. In the quarter-finals and the semi-finals, they would take out Turkey and Great Britain by the same score of 3–1. In the final though, they would lose to Sweden.Silver Medal at 1952 Summer Olympics
Having a team with many players from the 1948 generation, Yugoslavia was a formidable side at the 1952 Summer Olympics and finished as runners-up behind the famous "Golden Team" representing Hungary. Against the USSR, Yugoslavia was 5–1 up with 15 minutes of their first round match to go. The Yugoslavs, understandably, put their feet up. Arthur Ellis, the match referee, recorded what happened next in his book, The Final Whistle : "The USSR forced the most honourable draw ever recorded! Bobrov, their captain, scored a magnificent hat-trick. After the USSR had reduced the lead to 5–2, he, almost single-handed, took the score to 5–5, scoring his third in the last minute. For once, use of the word sensational was justified." Although Bobrov's early goal in their replay presaged a miraculous recovery, Yugoslavia recovered sufficiently to put out their opponents easily in the second half.Later decades
The federation and football overall was disrupted by World War II. After the war, a socialist federation was formed and the football federation reconstituted. It was one of the founding members of the UEFA and it organized the 1976 European Championship played in Belgrade and Zagreb. The national team participated in eight World Cups and four Euros, won the Olympic football tournament in 1960 at the Summer Games, and developed a reputation for skillful and attacking football, leading them to be dubbed "the Brazilians of Europe".Dragan Džajić holds the record for the most national team caps at 85, between 1964 and 1979. The best scorer is Stjepan Bobek with 38 goals, between 1946 and 1956.
Dissolution and UN embargo
With the end of the Cold War, democratic principles were introduced to the country which brought about the end of Titoist rule. In the subsequent atmosphere, national tensions were heightened. At the Yugoslavia-Netherlands friendly in preparation for the 1990 World Cup, the Croatian crowd in Zagreb jeered the Yugoslav team and anthem and waved Dutch flags. With the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the team split up and the remaining team of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was banned from competing at Euro 92. The decision was made on 31 May 1992, just 10 days before the competition commenced.They had finished top of their qualifying group, but were unable to play in the competition due to United Nations Security Council Resolution 757. Their place was taken by Denmark, who went on to win the competition. Yugoslavia had also been drawn as second seed in Group 5 of the European Zone in the qualifying tournament for the 1994 World Cup. FRY was barred from competing, rendering the group unusually weak.
Breakup
After the breakup of Yugoslavia, the FRY consisted of Montenegro and Serbia. The national team of Serbia and Montenegro continued under the name Yugoslavia until 2003, when country and team were renamed Serbia and Montenegro.For the later official football teams, see:
- Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team
- Croatia national football team
- Slovenia national football team
- North Macedonia national football team
- Serbia and Montenegro national football team, later
- * Montenegro national football team
- * Serbia national football team
- ** Kosovo national football team
National teams
Successor teams
| Nation | FIFA Active | International tournament | Round |
| - | - | ||
| UEFA Euro 1996 | Quarter-Final | ||
| 1998 FIFA World Cup | Third Place | ||
| 2002 FIFA World Cup | Group Stage | ||
| UEFA Euro 2004 | Group Stage | ||
| 2006 FIFA World Cup | Group Stage | ||
| UEFA Euro 2008 | Quarter-Final | ||
| UEFA Euro 2012 | Group Stage | ||
| 2014 FIFA World Cup | Group Stage | ||
| UEFA Euro 2016 | Round of 16 | ||
| 2018 FIFA World Cup | Runner-up | ||
| UEFA Euro 2020 | |||
 FR Yugoslavia | - | - | |
| FR Yugoslavia | 1998 FIFA World Cup | Round of 16 | |
| FR Yugoslavia | UEFA Euro 2000 | Quarter-Final | |
| FR Yugoslavia | 2006 FIFA World Cup | Group Stage | |
| FR Yugoslavia | 2010 FIFA World Cup | Group Stage | |
| FR Yugoslavia | 2018 FIFA World Cup | Group Stage | |
| - | - | ||
| UEFA Euro 2000 | Group Stage | ||
| 2002 FIFA World Cup | Group Stage | ||
| 2010 FIFA World Cup | Group Stage | ||
| 2014 FIFA World Cup | Group Stage | ||
Additional stats:
- Croatia has/will appear at their 10th major tournament since independence, most by any other former republic;
- Croatia's runner-up finish at 2018 FIFA World Cup is the best result at a major tournament by any other former republic;
- Croatia was the first former Yugoslav nation to qualify to a major tournament after independence;
- Slovenia has only qualified for major tournaments via play-offs ;
- Croatia were seeded inside Pot 1 of FIFA World Cup qualifications on 3 successive occasions, in 2010, 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, after FR Yugoslavia who were seeded once in 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification;
- Only three former Yugoslav republics were ever seeded inside Pot 1 in the history of UEFA European Championship qualifying competition, after FR Yugoslavia, Croatia and Bosnia ;
- No former SFR Yugoslav republic was ever seeded or in Pot 1 at finals of a major tournament;
- Niko Kranjčar played for Croatia at 2006 FIFA World Cup under his father – head coach Zlatko Kranjčar; likewise Tino-Sven Sušić played for Bosnia at 2014 FIFA World Cup under his uncle – head coach Safet Sušić.
Youth teams
The Yugoslav under-20 team won the FIFA World Youth Championship 1987.
Kits
Yugoslavia's traditional colours were blue, white and red, mirroring the tricolour of the nation's flag. This combination was typically manifested through blue shirts, white shorts and red socks, the source of the nickname Plavi. The away kit was all-white, featuring blue and red trim.All of the kits from 1950 to 1990 were sponsored by Adidas.
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
SFR Yugoslavia
Competitive record
FIFA World Cup record
Champions Runners-up Third Place Fourth PlaceUEFA European Championship record
Champions Runners-up Third Place Fourth PlaceMediterranean Games record
Honours
FIFA World CupUEFA European Championship
Olympic football tournament
Player statistics
Most caps
Top goalscorers
The following players scored ten or more goals for Yugoslavia.| Rank | Name | Goals |
| 1 | Stjepan Bobek | 38 |
| 2 | Milan Galić | 37 |
| 3 | Blagoje Marjanović | 36 |
| 4 | Rajko Mitić | 32 |
| 5 | Dušan Bajević | 29 |
| 6 | Todor Veselinović | 28 |
| 7 | Borivoje Kostić | 26 |
| 8 | Zlatko Vujović | 25 |
| 9 | Dragan Džajić | 23 |
| 10 | Bernard Vukas | 22 |
| 11 | Safet Sušić | 21 |
| 11 | Slaven Zambata | 21 |
| 13 | Đorđe Vujadinović | 18 |
| 14 | Muhamed Mujić | 17 |
| 14 | Darko Pančev | 17 |
| 14 | Branko Zebec | 17 |
| 17 | Miloš Milutinović | 16 |
| 18 | Aleksandar Živković | 15 |
| 19 | Željko Čajkovski | 12 |
| 19 | Aleksandar Tirnanić | 12 |
| 21 | Dražan Jerković | 11 |
| 21 | Zdravko Rajkov | 11 |
| 21 | Josip Skoblar | 11 |
| 24 | Josip Bukal | 10 |
| 24 | Ivan Hitrec | 10 |
| 24 | Josip Katalinski | 10 |
Head-to-head record
| Opponents | Pld | W | D | L |
| 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 17 | 8 | 4 | 5 | |
| 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 14 | 2 | 6 | 6 | |
| 28 | 17 | 5 | 6 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| 31 | 9 | 4 | 18 | |
| 9 | 7 | 0 | 2 | |
| 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | |
| 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| 25 | 10 | 7 | 8 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 20 | 16 | 2 | 2 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 29 | 5 | 9 | 15 | |
| 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | |
| 18 | 4 | 6 | 8 | |
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | |
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | |
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | |
| 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | |
| 12 | 9 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 19 | 6 | 4 | 9 | |
| 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 40 | 17 | 5 | 18 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 8 | 1 | 5 | 2 | |
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| 17 | 2 | 4 | 11 | |
| 16 | 5 | 4 | 7 | |
| 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | |
| 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | |
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | |
| 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | |
| 25 | 8 | 3 | 14 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |