A former Southampton fan favourite was impressive despite starting on the bench in his nation’s Euro 2024 opener.
Southampton are not very well represented at this summer’s European Championships in Germany, with Jan Bednarek the only player playing at the tournament who is contracted to the club next season.
Stuart Armstrong and Che Adams are both representing Scotland, but it has been confirmed that Armstrong will leave upon his contract expiry at the end of June and Adams looks likely to leave for the same reason.
There was one former player involved in a game of particular interest, though, as Dusan Tadic’s Serbia faced England on Sunday night.
Surprisingly, Tadic was not selected in the starting line-up despite being Serbia’s captain but made a real impact after coming on in the 61st minute.
Rio Ferdinand praises Dusan Tadic impact v England
England started well in Gelsenkirchen and deservedly took the lead through a Jude Bellingham header on 13 minutes.
With Serbia failing to deal with England in the first half, they were noticeably more aggressive in the second half and arguably had the better of the second 45 minutes.
Tadic was introduced with half an hour to go and immediately Serbia looked more threatening, with the Fenerbahce playmaker getting on the ball and threading balls through the strikers.
Ultimately, though, he was unable to get his side back in the game as they fell to a 1-0 defeat in their first ever meeting with England.
Rio Ferdinand was on punditry duty for the BBC for the game and singled the now 35-year-old former Saint for praise for the responsibility he took to try and get his nation back in the game.
Ferdinand said: “The way Tadic came on for the Serbs. He came on and he was like, ‘Give me the ball, I will be a bit of an outlet for you guys’.”
Erik ten Hag hails Tadic leadership qualities
Tadic played 162 games for Southampton across a four year spell, scoring 24 goals and providing 32 assists before leaving for Ajax in 2018.
It was at Ajax that he played under current Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag and the Dutch coach spoke of his surprise at Tadic’s omission from the Serbia side whilst working for national tv on Sunday.
Ten Hag said: “I think he is the captain of Serbia, so it is quite a statement. I don’t believe he is not fit, because Dusan is always fit. I worked with him for four and a half years and he was always fit.
“Especially at such moments he makes sure he is fit. He is one of the most professional players I have worked with.”
He went on to praise the 109-cap international, saying: “He is such a fantastic leader and with his professionalism he is an example for the rest. He pulls the rest along and takes responsibility.
“Tadic always ensured that the team continues to play in the discipline. He always ensures that the team’s dynamics and spirit remain. He also always had the decisive pass. It happened so often that he won the games for us.”
Given the impact he had in the 1-0 defeat to England, Southampton fans should expect to see their former creator-in-chief start in Serbia’s next game against Slovenia on Thursday.