A brace from Aleksandar Mitrović was all Serbia needed to hand Nigeria a two-nil defeat in a friendly at The Hive, Barnet FC Stadium, Canons Park, London on Tuesday.
The former Newcastle forward grabbed both goals in the second half of the tie.
Nigeria’s Manager, Gernot Rohr, opted for Chidozie Awsziem in place of injured Leon Balogun.
The defender failed a late fitness test.
He is suspected to be nursing a knee injury from the Poland match on Friday.
The gaffer also introduced Tyronne Ebuehi, Ahmed Musa and Ogenyi Onazi in Nigeria’s starting line up.
Serbia began on the front foot with Eagles struggling for composure and coordination.
In the 36th minute, Nigeria survived an anxious moment, after a Serbian striker’s header was presumed to have crossed the goal line, but the referee overruled it.
The trio of Victor Moses, Musa and Alex Iwobi were close to putting Nigeria ahead, but they were thwarted by the Serbian defence.
The first half ended barren.
The Serbians returned for the second half looking desperate for goal.
They came close to scoring, but Francis Uzoho was equal to the task.
Odion Ighalo made an instant impression moment after the striker replaced Moses.
Ighalo’s strike missed the goal mouth with few inches.
Mitrović finally broke the deadlock in the 68th minute, as he connected a cross from the left flank, which beat helpless Uzoho.
The goalkeeper’s resistance was again broken when Mitrovic came calling.
The striker scored the second goal of the night from a similar position in the 81st minute.
On record, Super Eagles’ manager Rohr has lost his second game in 12 matches since his appointment.
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