Key results

Serbia 3 Austria 2

Two unbeaten teams met in Belgrade for an important early fixture in Group D, and the home side edged a close encounter. Serbia set up in their usual 3-4-3, dropping into a 5-3-2 out of possession, and they started brightly – barely five minutes had passed when superb link-up play between Filip Kostic and Dusan Tadic created a chance for Aleksandar Mitrovic (above) to slot home the opening goal.

Marcel Sabitzer equalised for the visitors some 10 minutes later, before Mitrovic netted his and Serbia’s second with a strong header from a Tadic cross midway through the first half. Austria fought back again in the second half, veteran Marc Janko prodding home after the hosts had failed to clear their lines, but Tadic turned finisher from creator to fire home the winner 15 minutes from time. An important three points against potential rivals set Serbia up nicely for the rest of the campaign.

Republic of Ireland 0 Serbia 1

A top-of-the-group clash between two sides competing for the single automatic qualification spot was narrowly won by the visitors in a tense game at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium.

Serbia were organised into their usual 3-4-3 formation and showed their intent early with several direct balls in to the imposing figure of Mitrovic up front, with the more creative forces of Kostic and Tadic looking to play off him. Martin O’Neill’s Republic of Ireland had a headed goal correctly disallowed for offside in the first half, but didn’t create any other chances of real quality in what soon became a scrappy affair.

The breakthrough came 10 minutes into the second half, and for the visitors. One of Serbia’s key tactics in qualifying was to have the full-back on the opposite side of the play arrive late in the box, and this is exactly where Aleksandar Kolarov (below) found himself to hammer home off the underside of the bar.

A red card for supposed last man Nikola Maksimovic with more than 20 minutes remaining increased the pressure on the Serbia back line, but they ultimately held on to claim what proved the decisive victory in the group.