Serbia Finds Its Footing: Vlahović, Mitrović Inspire Vital World Cup Qualifying Turnaround in Andorra

For sixty minutes on a brisk night in Andorra, Serbia’s World Cup qualification hopes teetered somewhere between disaster and redemption. Then Dušan Vlahović and Aleksandar Mitrović, long the engine and the anchor of Serbia’s attack, seized the narrative—and with it, perhaps, their nation’s fortunes on the road to 2026.

A 3-1 win on Andorran soil will look routine in dispatches, another expected result for a favored side. On the pitch, it was anything but, and the tension of recent history hung over Serbia even before the first whistle. Reeling from consecutive home defeats to Albania and England—a bruising 0-1 against their Balkan rivals and a humbling 0-5 thrashing from the Three Lions—Serbia stepped into the unknown of a rain-soaked venue against one of UEFA’s smallest nations desperately needing more than just three points. They needed a statement and found one, but only after overcoming an early jolt.

Andorra, a side whose qualification journey is typically measured in defensive rigidity and rare flashes of belief, found that belief in the 17th minute. Guillaume López, deployed as a tireless forward, latched onto a diagonal ball that split Serbia’s high line. His finish, driven low and true past the outstretched Vanja Milinković-Savić, sent the home crowd—small but feverish—into waves of celebration. It was López’s first in the campaign, and it briefly thrust Andorra into second place in the live standings, a scenario few had imagined.

The goal was more than a shock; it was a test of Serbia’s character. For thirty minutes following López’s strike, Serbia’s rhythm was halting, their passing ponderous and confidence brittle—a reflection of recent wounds. The hosts, buoyed by the early advantage and a string of resilient results (a 2-2 draw in Latvia and a stalemate in Estonia their latest feats), dug in with five at the back, daring Serbia to find a way through. The visitors’ best first-half spell came on 41 minutes, when Vlahović met a Filip Kostić cross at the near post, his glancing header forcing a sharp save from Iker Álvarez.

Halftime brought a different Serbian side. Dragan Stojković’s squad emerged with a sharpened edge, the ball zipping between Nemanja Gudelj, Sergej Milinković-Savić, and Dušan Tadić, whose influence grew as spaces opened. The equalizer arrived in the 54th minute, the product of both patience and urgency. Tadić orchestrated a flowing move through midfield, releasing Kostić on the overlap—his whipped cross sought and found Vlahović, who thumped his header past Álvarez. The celebration was more relief than triumph, but for Serbia the sense of the inevitable had finally dawned.

The match’s defining moment, though, would come with just over a quarter-hour to play. A skirmish in the box—sparked by Mitrović’s relentless pursuit of a loose ball—ended when Andorra’s Marc Garcia, otherwise disciplined throughout, clipped the forward’s heels. The referee’s decision was immediate and clear: penalty. Mitrović, ice-cold from the spot, buried the opportunity in the 77th minute, sending Álvarez the wrong way and Serbia into a rare spell of comfort. From there, the visitors managed the match with greater authority, adding a third late on as substitute Luka Ilić finished a swift counterattack initiated by a turnover in midfield.

For Andorra, the dream faded, but not without another proud showing. Their campaign, marked by defensive solidity and periodic flashes of attacking ambition, has yielded hard-won draws in Latvia and against club opposition, but the gulf in experience and cutting edge told in the decisive moments. López, their scorer, ran himself into exhaustion, and the final whistle found the hosts crestfallen but unbowed.

The result vaults Serbia back into contention in Group B, where the margin for error has narrowed after a rocky September and October. Stojković’s men leap over Andorra into second place, at least temporarily, and with winnable fixtures on the horizon, their fate remains in their hands. Vlahović’s return to the scoresheet after weeks of frustration and Mitrović’s continuing reliability from the spot underscore a side capable of both resilience and ruthlessness—when necessity demands.

For Andorra, the journey continues as ever—against the odds, with pride undiminished. Their next fixtures offer an opportunity to build on the foundations of a side that has learned to punch above its weight. For Serbia, the path to the World Cup remains fraught, but after a night where pressure threatened to overwhelm, their campaign has found fresh impetus through familiar heroes.

As autumn tightens its hold on Europe, qualification campaigns move ever closer to their reckoning. Tonight, in a modest Andorran arena, Serbia rediscovered that rarest of World Cup currencies: hope.