The first place in the group was won by Serbia and Montenegro, which directly qualified for the 2006 World Cup. Second-placed Spain entered the UEFA qualifiers. Although the state union of Serbia and Montenegro ceased to exist with the independence of Montenegro, on June 3, 2006 the national team played under that name until July 9 to complete the World Cup competition cycle that was underway.
Unforgettable are the qualifications for the World Cup in Germany in 2006, in which the “blues” were more than convincing. They finished the group competition with Spain, Belgium and Bosnia and Herzegovina undefeated, with a goal difference of 16: 1. And who knows how the last selection of the former state would have passed at the World Cup, if it had been played soon after the end of the qualifications. Thus, seven or eight months of waiting and “psychological preparations” were enough for both the selector and individual players to forget the principles that took them to the world’s biggest sporting event after the Summer Olympics. As if all that was not enough, Vidic seriously injured his knee, which broke the standard four in front of Jevric, which also included Krstajic, Dragutinovic and Gavrancic, and which was the foundation of success in the qualifications. Objectively, there were all the conditions for a “quality breakup”, but who would give up hope for a good result before the start of the tournament?
