On 1 September 2021, a Wednesday evening in the Hungarian city of Debrecen, Qatar faced Serbia in a friendly just over 14 months before the World Cup on home soil. Serbia won 4-0 at the neutral venue. A little more than five years on, even most of those involved are unlikely to remember much about it.
For Mile Svilar, it is another matter. The then 22-year-old goalkeeper replaced Predrag Rajkovic at half-time to make his senior international debut. That unremarkable Wednesday evening in Debrecen still haunts him.
Svilar was in Serbia's squad for the next four World Cup qualifiers but did not play again. That debut remains the now 27-year-old's only senior international, even though he has developed into one of Europe's strongest keepers at Roma and was voted Serie A's best goalkeeper last season.
Mile Svilar's father was Yugoslavia's national-team goalkeeper
Born in Antwerp, Belgium, in August 1999, Svilar grew up in Belgium. His father, former Yugoslavia goalkeeper Ratko Svilar, won nine caps and ended his professional career in 1996 after 16 years at Royal Antwerp. He would later play a major role in his son's fateful decision.
Svilar junior made a name for himself early as one of Belgium's best goalkeepers in his age group. At just ten, he moved from Antwerp's Beerschot AC to record champions RSC Anderlecht in nearby Brussels. He later played for every Belgium youth national team from under-15 level onwards, including an outstanding performance at the 2016 European Under-17 Championship. During that tournament, the highly gifted goalkeeper, who left Anderlecht for Benfica in 2017 at just 18 before making his first senior appearance for the club, told UEFA.com: "I learned a lot from my father, almost everything. I have the same style as him."
Getty ImagesA few years later, Svilar chose Serbia partly on his father's advice, a decision he is still grappling with today. Like his dad, Mile wanted to play in goal for his father's homeland, or at least thought he did. Svilar senior encouraged him, weighing the sporting factors as well as the emotional pull.
Why Mile Svilar would have had a difficult time with Belgium
Belgium already had, and in a way still have, one of the world's best goalkeepers in Thibaut Courtois. In 2021, when Svilar decided to switch national associations, Courtois was 29 and only just entering his prime as a goalkeeper. Although he took a break from the national team after the World Cup last summer, he wants to return in September 2027. The Svilars knew around five years ago that becoming Belgium's number one would be enormously difficult in the medium term.
With no call-up to Belgium's senior national team and 26 youth internationals behind him, Svilar accepted Serbia's advances at 22 and switched national associations. He soon regretted it, probably because the prospects were not as good as he had hoped.
Predrag Rajkovic (now at Al-Ittihad) was the number one at the time, with Vanja Milinkovic-Savic (now at SSC Napoli) ready to challenge him. In the years that followed, Serbia generally rotated between the two in goal. Having gone to the trouble of switching national associations, Svilar may have hoped to establish himself quickly as first choice.
Why can Mile Svilar no longer switch back from Serbia to Belgium?
When that did not happen, Svilar soon decided he no longer wanted to play for Serbia and sought a return to the Belgian association. FIFA's statutes block him. Under the so-called "one-way rule", a player who switches national associations cannot switch back after playing a senior international for the new country, whether a friendly or a competitive match. Svilar did exactly that against Qatar in September 2021. He can no longer play for Belgium.
That has not stopped the Roma keeper, who moved to Italy from Benfica in 2022, from trying. For years he has sought an exemption from FIFA that would allow him to play for Belgium again. "We have, of course, been following him for many months. But it is clear that he cannot play for us," then Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco said in spring 2024, confirming that the Belgian association had also considered the possibility.
In the run-up to the 2026 World Cup, Svilar reportedly tried again to persuade FIFA to turn a blind eye. Again, he got nowhere. And Svilar very probably felt an itch in his hands and feet when Courtois had to go off injured in Belgium's World Cup quarter-final against Spain. He might have come on in the 71st minute instead of Senne Lammens, whose error allowed the eventual world champions to score the 2-1 winner shortly before the end.
Mile Svilar as a warning for Nicolo Tresoldi
Svilar has not given up hope of switching national associations again, back to Belgium, despite the latest disappointment in the summer, according to a report in Gazzetta dello Sport. He remains unwilling to play for Serbia, though he would be allowed to do so and would probably still be welcome. He certainly was in 2025: "I spoke to him. He has decided not to play for the team any more. I'm sorry. I tried to take that approach, to show him that he is important and that he has a place in the national team if he wants to be here," Serbia coach Veljko Paunovic explained on TV Arena Sport around a year ago.
Getty ImagesBeyond his own predicament, Svilar's story offers a warning to Nicolo Tresoldi. The Club Brugge striker, born in Italy and brought to Germany by his family at 13, is the talk of the moment. The Squadra Azzurra or the DFB team? Which will he choose?
Tresoldi has never played for an Italian youth side. Instead, he has worn the DFB shirt since under-19 level and is determined to fire Germany's under-21s to the European title next summer. After that, everything is open. Mile Svilar knows what Tresoldi must consider: he needs a decision he will not regret just a few weeks later. There will be no going back.