Mirko Vučinić has been forced to reshape Montenegro for Cyprus Vs Montenegro in Limassol, with injuries and a red card leaving him short before the last Nations League match at 15 p.m. Jonathan Drešaj is set to make his debut, while the squad has been trimmed by the absence of several regular defenders.
The match matters because Montenegro is finishing its Nations League campaign in Division C, and the result feeds into its place in the Euro 2028 play-offs. Vučinić has leaned on different players through the hectic pace of September and October, and this team now reflects that churn more than any other.
Adam Marušić, Milan Roganović, Marko Vesovic and Andrija Bulatović are all unavailable through injury, while Stefan Savić is out after the red card he picked up against Latvia. Andrej Đurić is not fully ready either, which leaves Montenegro light at the back even in a match that carries practical consequences beyond the table. The defensive pairing is expected to be Slobodan Rubežić and Igor Vujačić, with Stefan Lončar coming in for Bulatović in midfield after his suspension ended.
Up front, Stevan Jovetić is expected to lead the attack with Nikola Krstović and Milutin Osmajić. Jovetić had problems before the meeting but is ready to play in Limassol, where he turns out for AEL, and if he cannot finish the match, Set Hakšabanović is the backup option. The likely lineup also underlines how much Vučinić has had to improvise: Popović, Drešaj, Rubežić, Vujačić, Gasevic, Lončar, Janković, Adžić, Jovetić, Osmajić and Krstović.
That leaves the same question hanging over Montenegro's trip to Cyprus: not whether the team can field a side, but how long its patched-up shape can hold.
