“Decisive phase”
Ex-Bundesliga professional becomes Serbian national coach
October 30, 2025 – 4:43 p.mReading time: 1 min.
Serbia could still qualify for next year’s World Cup through the playoffs. A former Bundesliga player will take over the coaching position.
Serbia’s Football Association has found a successor for Dragan Stojković: Veljko Paunović will be the new head coach of the national team. The 48-year-old, who was active as a player for Hannover 96, among others, is expected to lead the Serbs towards the 2026 World Cup.
Paunović is taking office in a demanding sporting phase. Serbia is currently only in third place in qualifying group K – behind England and Albania. However, there is still a chance of taking part in the finals, which will take place next year in Mexico, Canada and the USA.
Paunović was only released as coach at Spanish club Real Oviedo in mid-October. Now comes the move to the Serbian national team, which was last represented at the World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
Branko Radujko, president of the Serbian association, said that the talks with Paunović were not primarily about “the contract or the payment.” Rather, the new coach made sure to be “available as quickly as possible to take over the team in such a crucial phase.”
The upcoming tasks for Serbia are tough: On November 13th they will face England, who have already qualified, in London, and three days later the team will face Latvia. According to Radujko, the results of these two games will “in no way affect” Paunović’s future status.