SERBIA COACH SLAVOLJUB Muslin was a relieved man as his side took a huge step towards World Cup qualification with a 1-0 win over Ireland in Dublin.
An intense 90 minutes saw the visitors survive despite having Nikola Maksimovic sent off in the 68th minute.
“It was one of the most difficult games in my career as a coach, and one of the most important games because we knew this game would be the decisive game to go to the World Cup,” Muslin said.
“As far as the game is concerned, we knew it would be difficult. They held the ball for quite a long time and the beginning was such that we knew it would be difficult.
We were trying with counter-attacks to achieve our goal because we knew they were going to have more possession, and that’s how the game worked out.
“I asked my team to play our game. We were lucky to score the goal because it did hit the bar and at the end, we had a difficult 15 minutes because we had 10 players left on the pitch.
We also had one injured player during the match, so practically we played with only nine players, but they didn’t have many chances despite all of that and we ended up with much delight.
“I must congratulate the opponent on a fair and honest game. I also congratulate my players, who played and fought very hard.
I do congratulate Ireland on their fighting spirit and I hope they are going to progress further because they will fight with Wales for the next spot in the table.”
Tuesday night’s result means Serbia are assured of at least second place in the group, and just one win is needed from their final two games to guarantee a spot in Russia next year.
While admitting his side would not take anything for granted, Muslin acknowledged they were in a strong position.
Of course, we are very close to achieving the main goal and going forward, but there are a couple of matches left and this is a very, very important competition for us because we didn’t progress in the last three major competitions.
“I do hope that this will help the progress of football in our country.”
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