The national team played its first friendly in December 1994, and with the easing of sanctions the generation of the 1990s eventually participated at the 1998 World Cup, reaching the round of 16, and the quarter-finals at Euro 2000.

Jovan Ružić was the first Serb to represent the national team in its international debut match, a 7–0 drubbing by Czechoslovakia at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium.

The French delegation was on a four-game tour of Yugoslavia with the last exhibition game being played in Belgrade's SK Jugoslavija Stadium on 3 July.

The de facto Serbian team led by coach Boško Simonović, composed largely of players from Belgrade's BSK, SK Jugoslavija and BASK, reached the semi-final, losing to hosts and eventual winners Uruguay 6–1.

[23][24][25] The royal interbellum era featured footballers such as Blagoje Marjanović, Aleksandar Tirnanić, Milorad Arsenijević, Đorđe Vujadinović, Branislav Sekulić and Milutin Ivković.

Due to the dismemberment of Yugoslavia during World War II the football federation and national team ceased activities but reformed following the end of hostilities.

In 1945 Svetislav Glišović led the first unofficial national team representing the Federal State of Serbia in a tournament held to mark the end of World War II.

[27][28] The reconstituted Yugoslavia reached the UEFA European Championship finals in 1960 and 1968, and finished fourth place at the 1962 FIFA World Cup.

[35] In the qualifiers, Yugoslavia was drawn in Group 6 with Euro 1996 runners-up Czech Republic, Slovakia, Spain, Faroe Islands and Malta.

[37] The next game was a draw for Yugoslavia; after leading Germany 2–0, a free kick from Michael Tarnat deflected off Mihajlović and into the goal, then Oliver Bierhoff equalised it at 2–2 at the 80th minute.

Yugoslavia entered in the match with a sole attacker, but its defensive tactics proved unsuccessful as Dennis Bergkamp put the Netherlands in front in the 38th minute.

In the late seconds of the game Edgar Davids' shot towards the Yugoslav net from a distance of 20 meters and beat goalkeeper Ivica Kralj.

The first match against Croatia took place in Belgrade after the bombing ended, and was interrupted due to a power outage at the beginning of the second half, resuming after 43 minutes and eventually finishing 0–0.

The Slovenians took a 3–0 lead in the first game at the Stade du Pays de Charleroi, but three goals in six second-half minutes enabled Yugoslavia to secure a 3–3 draw.

A strong start in qualification was overshadowed by the final hurdle of matches where inconsistency took over, the side dropping points against the likes of Finland, Belgium, Armenia and Kazakhstan.

[59][60] Radomir Antić was sacked two games into the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying process, a 1–1 home draw against Slovenia ending his two-year stint.

For the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying, Serbia was drawn in Group C featuring Italy, Slovenia, Estonia, Northern Ireland and the Faroe Islands.

Serbia started the first two games with a 3–0 win away to Faroe Islands and a 1–1 draw at home to Slovenia but this result ended Antić's stint as the country's coach.

[64] Serbia left empty-handed after a 1–0 loss and exited the tournament for the third time in a row during the qualifying group stages, missing out by one point behind Estonia.

Ahead of the qualifying campaign for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Dejan Stanković and Nemanja Vidić announced that they were retiring from international football.

Serbia was drawn in Group D in qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup with Euro 2016 semi-finalists Wales, Austria, Ireland, Georgia and Moldova.

[79] Due to the performance of Serbia in previous years, the country found itself started the campaign of the inaugural Nations League, where they were drawn into Group 4 with Montenegro, Lithuania and Romania.

With both wins against Lithuania and Montenegro and both draw games against Romania, Serbia finished on top of the group, securing the Euro 2020 play-off spot and being promoted into League B for 2020–21 season.

However, an equaliser by Dušan Tadić and a decisive goal from Aleksandar Mitrović in the final minutes of the second half meant Serbia automatically booked a ticket for Qatar.

Serbia was defeated in the first match against Brazil 2–0, drew against Cameroon 3–3, and lost against Switzerland 3–2 after a fight between multiple Serbs and Granit Xhaka, ending up with only one point.

[105] For years following the breakup of SFR Yugoslavia the national team experienced an identity crisis, which despite its name, was seen as de facto representative of Serbia.

From 1994 to 2006 the obsolete and unpopular Communist era national anthem "Hej, Sloveni" was often jeered, booed and whistled by home supporters as players refrained from singing the lyrics.

During this period the team continued to officially carry the old nickname "Plavi" (the Blues), badge and kit design indicative of the Yugoslav tricolour.

[106][103][107] Following the secession of Montenegro in 2006 the national team adopted red shirts, blue shorts and white socks in honor of the Serbian tricolour.

Win Draw Loss Fixture For the period before 1992 see: Yugoslavia national football team#Head coaches Caps and goals as of 18 November 2024, after the match against Denmark.