Sulejmani frustrated by Serbia stalemate

Serbia forward Miralem Sulejmani admitted that the Balkan team's goalless draw with Belarus on Friday had left them facing an uphill struggle to secure a semi-final berth from Group A.

'Very difficult'
The Serbs will go into their final game in the section against Sweden in Malmo on Tuesday knowing that only victory will suffice to lift them above the tournament hosts. "I think it is going to be very difficult because Sweden are playing at home and they are going to have a lot of support," Sulejmani said. "I think we are a better team than them and we have to give everything because we have nothing to lose now."

Two shots on target
The AFC Ajax player, who left the Malmö New Stadium with three stitches in a head wound, lamented Serbia's failure to find the opposition net as they played out a second successive stalemate at this UEFA European Under-21 Championship. "Like against Italy, we couldn't score a goal, which was disappointing," he said. Although they had 61 per cent of possession, Slobodan Krcmarević's side managed just two shots on target – so missing the chance to leapfrog the Swedes into second place.

Striker light
Serbia scored 26 goals in ten qualifiers to reach these finals yet arrived in Sweden without their injured first-choice centre-forward, the 1.86m Filip Djordjević. It seems he is sorely missed. "The problem was our two strikers are not so big," said Sulejmani. "We play so many long balls and we are not so strong in the air. We had the same problem against Italy." Over the course of 120 minutes Krcmarević has tried three different players alongside Sulejmani and winger Zoran Tosić in attack and arguably none has been more effective than the versatile Gojko Kačar, who pushed forward to lend physical support to his forwards once more.

'Final ball missing'
Kačar acknowledged that Belarus had made life difficult for Serbia as they sought to rectify the defensive mistakes made in their 5-1 defeat by the hosts. "They were much better than against Sweden," he said. "They concentrated on defending their goal and we didn't score." His captain Milan Smiljanić cited a combination of factors, saying: "We didn't play like we did the other day against Italy. Today the energy, the touch, weren't there. We just didn't play well. I said beforehand that this game would be tough. Belarus had everyone back in defence and our final ball was missing." Indeed the team in white's best chance, spurned by Nemanja Pejčinović, came from a set-piece.

Silver lining
Yet despite a gloomy outcome to match the clouds that marred the Swedish Midsummer, Smiljanić noted a potential silver lining. "The one good thing is if we win we are sure of a semi-final place," said the midfielder. "When Serbia have to win they always play well. Sweden will go through with a point but that is no problem for us. If we win, we go through. I believe in my team and believe we can win."