Montenegro welcome Gibraltar to Gradski Stadion in Niksic for their opening Group L fixture in 2026 World Cup qualifying on Saturday evening.
Both nations are joined in Group L by Czech Republic, the Faroe Islands and the loser of the UEFA Nations League quarter-final tie between France and Croatia.
Match preview
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Montenegro started the year 2024 in positive fashion with friendly victories against Belarus and North Macedonia without reply, but those two results were followed by a miserable run of seven straight defeats, including five during a difficult UEFA Nations League campaign that ended with relegation from League B Group 4.
The Brave Falcons finished rock bottom of their group behind Wales, Iceland and Turkey and they were in danger of concluding their campaign without a single point on the board until they surprisingly beat the latter 3-1 on home soil in their final match of last year.
Seeking an upturn in fortunes after a challenging first 12 months in charge, Robert Prosinecki is keen to see his Montenegro side make a strong start to their 2026 World Cup qualification campaign as they endeavour to qualify for their first-ever major tournament as an independent nation.
Ranked 73rd in the world by FIFA, Montenegro have won only one of their last eight World Cup qualifiers (D3 L4), but that was against this weekend’s opponents Gibraltar, winning 3-0 away from home in October 2021.
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Gibraltar may be regarded as one of the minnows of world football, ranked 196th out of 210 nations by FIFA, but they are currently enjoying a seven-game unbeaten run in all competitions.
After admirably holding Wales to a 0-0 draw and beating Andorra 1-0 in friendly fixtures in June, Gibraltar collected six points from four UEFA Nations League matches (W1 D3) in League D Group 1, but they narrowly missed out on promotion after finishing just one point behind surprise group winners San Marino.
Gibraltar then concluded 2024 with a 1-1 friendly draw at home to Moldova and that match proved to be the last of Julio Cesar Ribas‘s six-and-a-half-year reign as head coach; the 68-year-old Uruguayan opted to step down in November and 39-year-old Scott Wiseman has since been placed in interim charge.
Team 54 are now focused on attempting to win their first-ever World Cup qualifier and pick up their first-ever point as they have lost all 20 of their previous qualifiers in the 2018 and 2022 campaigns, scoring just seven goals and conceding 90 in the process.
Team News
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Montenegro striker Milutin Osmajic has missed Preston North End’s last three matches through injury and has subsequently been left out of the national team squad. He was also recently charged by the FA after being accused of racially abusing Burnley’s Hannibal Mejbri.
In his absence, Nikola Krstovic will likely continue in attack after doubling his international goal tally by netting a hat-trick in his last match against Turkey, while captain Stevan Jovetic is also in line to start; the 36-year-old has scored a record 36 goals for his country and is just three caps away from equalling Fatos Beciraj‘s appearance record of 86.
Should Prosinecki revert to a four-man defence, Adam Marusic and Risto Radunovic could be recalled to play as full-backs, while Vladimir Jovovic, Marko Jankovic and Marko Bakic could all link up in centre-midfield.
As for Gibraltar, goalkeeper Jaylan Hankins, defender Jack Sergeant and midfielder Graeme Torrilla have all been forced to withdraw from the national team squad due to injury.
Manchester United midfielder James Scanlon, 18, is yet to make a senior appearance at club level, but he could be handed his 11th international cap on the left flank this weekend, while Liam Walker – Gibraltar’s all-time top goalscorer (eight) and record appearance-maker (85) – is set to start on the opposite wing as Tjay De Barr leads the line.
Montenegro possible starting lineup:
Nikic; Marusic, I. Vujacic, Sipcic, Radunovic; Bakic, Jankovic; Camaj, Jovovic, Krstovic; Jovetic
Gibraltar possible starting lineup:
Banda; Ronan, Lopes, Annesley, Britto; Bent, Valarino, Pozo; Walker, De Barr, Scanlon
We say: Montenegro 2-0 Gibraltar
An upbeat Gibraltar outfit that has shown signs of improvement will be keen to pick up from where they left off at the end of last year under new boss Wiseman, but they will enter Saturday’s contest as underdogs.
Montenegro will welcome a return to home soil having won five of their last eight internationals on their own turf and considering they have beaten Gibraltar twice previously by an aggregate score of 7-1, we are backing the hosts to kick-start their qualification campaign with a victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
