Yugoslavia at the World Cup
Up until 2003, players from this region represented Yugoslavia. In 1991, Yugoslavia split up and the independent countries of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, and Serbia and Montenegro were formed. 'Serbia and Montenegro' later split into Serbia and Montenegro. Serbia and Montenegro, then Serbia's teams are seen by FIFA as the direct descendants of the Yugoslavia national team. The Serbia and Montenegro team played under the name Yugoslavia from 1992 until 2003 - see Serbia and Montenegro for results during this period.
Trivia
- Yugoslavia were one of the 13 teams in the inaugural World Cup in 1930.
- Their appearance in Germany 2006 was their eighth participation, with previous appearances in 1930, 1950, 1958, 1962, 1974, 1990, 1998.
- Their best performance was third in 1930. They reached the semi-finals of the first-ever World Cup in 1930. An early lead faded into memory as the eventual champions Uruguay crushed them 6-1.
- In 1950, Yugoslavia were eliminated in the group round despite two wins. In 1958 they reached the quarter-finals, where they lost 1-0 to Germany. They took revenge on Germany in 1962 with a 1-0 defeat, but the Czechs proved too strong for them in the semi-final.
- Yugoslavia started the 1950 finals match against Brazil with only 10 players as giant Yugoslavian player Rajko Mitic was knocked by an iron girder as he was leaving the dressing room, leaving a gash in his forehead. The referee refused to delay the game, and when the heavily-bandaged Mitic joined his teammates, his team were already one goal down.
- In 1974 Yugoslavia crashed out of the second round, in 1990 exited in the quarter-finals.
- The only player to have scored for two countries is Robert Prosinecki who represented Yugoslavia in 1990 scoring against the United Arab Emirates, and Croatia in 1998 scoring against Jamaica.
Related Pages
- List of all countries who have participated in the World Cup
- FIFA World Cup Home
- Yugoslavia at the European Championships (the Euros)
- About Sport in Yugoslavia
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