Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Nations League match.
Last year, Serbia fell just one point short of reaching the Nations League play-offs. That kind of narrow miss rarely fades from memory, and now they are expected to come out fully focused, aiming to navigate the early stages with minimal damage.
Serbia
In their final warm-up game before the tournament, Serbia lost 1:3 to Russia. While the result may not look great on paper, the quality of the opposition mustn’t be underestimated — Russia remain a formidable side. Despite the scoreline, Serbia showed plenty of promise, particularly through Dražen Luburić, who racked up an outstanding 20 points. The attacking cohesion was also notable, with just seven errors on the rally, one fewer than their Russian counterparts.
Turkey
Turkey were arguably the biggest disappointment in last year’s Nations League. Across 12 group-stage fixtures, they picked up only one win. That poor form carried into European Championship qualifiers, where they suffered a 0:3 defeat to Denmark, a team ranked 40th in the world. Their last official victory came against Hungary, who sit 49th in the rankings — hardly a statement result.
Serbia vs Turkey Prediction
Turkey have won only four of their last 16 matches, managing to push just three of those encounters to a fifth-set decider. Their friendly outings offered little encouragement, highlighting a squad still struggling for consistency and cohesion. Serbia, in contrast, appear sharper and more composed. With better form and clearer structure, they should get off to a flying start in this year’s competition.
