Aleksandar Mitrovic: Serbia hoping in-form marksman ready to prove himself on biggest stage

Serbia striker Aleksandar Mitrovic has recently excelled for club and country and with his confidence high the striker has a great chance to shine at the World Cup in Qatar.

The 28-year-old’s form has been on an upward curve since Fulham bought him for £22million from Newcastle United in 2018.

However, it truly exploded during the 2021-22 season when Mitrovic - crucial to Fulham’s promotion push - averaged nearly a goal per game, netting 43 times in 44 matches.

With that exceptional strike rate, he broke Guy Whittingham’s record of 42 for the most goals scored in a 46-game second-tier season, which was set back in 1992-93.

However, sceptics feared he would again fail to deliver at a higher level on Fulham’s return to the Premier League, having found the net only three times back in 2020-21.

But it took only three games for the Serbia striker to equal that tally as he scored twice against Liverpool in the season opener which ended 2-2 and another with a 90th-minute winner in Fulham’s 3-2 victory over Brentford.

Mitrovic is Fulham’s top scorer among those players currently at the club with more than 100 goals and is ranked third in the Premier League scoring charts with nine. His fine club form has been mirrored by his impressive goalscoring streak with the national team.

The striker, who made his Serbia debut in 2013, has 76 caps, scoring 50 goals with more than half in the past three years.

Mitrovic was the top scorer in qualifying Group A for the World Cup with eight goals - two more than Cristiano Ronaldo scored for Portugal as the former European champions finished second and were condemned to a playoff round.

In overall European World Cup qualifiers, only three players have scored more times than the Serbia forward - England’s Harry Kane and the Netherlands’ Memphis Depay (both 12) and Poland’s Robert Lewandowski (9).

Mitrovic continued his fine form in the group stages of the Nations League. Between June and September, he netted six goals in five games, including one in the decisive 2-0 win over Norway that saw Serbia to finish top and seal promotion to League A.

With some of Serbia’s stalwarts playing at their final World Cup and determined to bow out on a high, the pieces are in place for Mitrovic to prove himself on world football’s biggest stage.