Serbia's Roster for the World Championship in Singapore: Ten Olympic Champions on the List
Head coach of the Olympic champions, Uroš Stevanović, announced today, a day after the conclusion of the BENU Cup in Budapest, the roster for the World Championship in Singapore (July 11 – 24).
Goalkeepers: Radoslav Filipović (Radnički, 34 matches), Lazar Dobožanov (Oradea, 50 matches). Field Players: Dušan Mandić (Ferencvaroš, 261 matches, 467 goals), Strahinja Rašović (Radnički, 173 / 318), Sava Randjelović (Radnički, 254 / 116), Miloš Ćuk (Novi Beograd, 216 / 217), Vuk Milojević (Crvena zvezda, 46 / 41), Djordje Lazić (Jadran HN, 95 / 88), Nikola Jakšić (Radnički, 193 / 218), Nemanja Vico (Primorac, 106 / 78), Boris Vapenski (Radnički, 43/18), Petar Jakšić ( Radnički, 36/11), Viktor Rašović (Radnički, 163 / 103), Nikola Murišić (Radnički, 2/1), Vasilije Martinović (Novi Beograd, 46 / 55).
The reserve is Luka Pljevančić (Novi Beograd, 38 / 14).
Coaching Staff: Uroš Stevanović (head coach), Miloš Ćirić, Stefan Ćirić, and Miloš Ostojić (coaches), Dajana Zoretić (fitness coach), Andrija Gerić (sports psychologist), Vladimir Radović and Aleksa Nikolić (physiotherapists), Dr. Ivan Marjanović and Dr. Nikola Repac (doctors).
Compared to the team that won Olympic gold, Nemanja Ubović, Radomir Drašović, goalkeeper Vladimir Mišović, and the injured Nikola Dedović are missing.
The list includes a total of ten Olympic champions. In addition to the nine who won gold in Paris – Mandić, the Rašović brothers, the Jakšić brothers, Ćuk, Randjelović, Vico, and Filipović, there is also Đorđe Lazić, the Olympic champion from Tokyo in 2021.
All 15 players have already played in World Championships, with returnee to the national team, Boris Vapenski, and Nikola Murišić making their debut at the World Championship under the Serbian flag. Vapenski played at the 2022 World Championship for Georgia, while Murišić played three years earlier for Montenegro.
As was the case at the European Championship in Zagreb and the World Championship in Doha last year, Stevanović has decided to take three centers (Lazić, Vico, Murišić) on the trip.
After training in Kragujevac and Trebinje, and tournaments in Šabac and Budapest on July 2, the team will travel to Bangkok for preparations with the Australian team until July 9 before heading to Singapore.
Serbia is in a group with South Africa, Italy, and Romania, and will play matches in that order.
At world championships, Serbia has achieved the following placements:
2007 (Melbourne) - fourth place, 2009 (Rome) - first place, 2011 (Shanghai) - second place, 2013 (Barcelona) - seventh place, 2015 (Kazan) - first place, 2017 (Budapest) - third place, 2019 (Gwangju) - fifth place, 2022 (Budapest) - fifth place, 2023 (Fukuoka) - fourth place, 2024 (Qatar) - sixth place.
