Dragiša Zečević

Dragiša Zečević (born November 5, 1980) is a Serbian football coach and former player who played as a midfielder and left-back. He is notable for his tenure as head coach of the Serbia women's national football team, during which he led the team to several historic milestones, including their first-ever playoff for the UEFA Women's European Championship.

Managerial career

Serbia women's national team

Zečević served as the head coach of the Serbia women's national team, achieving significant progress in international competitions.

UEFA Women's Nations League 2023–24

Under Zečević's leadership, Serbia competed in League B of the 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League, finishing first in their group and advancing to the promotion playoff against Iceland.

Group stage results:

22 September 2023: Ukraine 1–2 Serbia 26 September 2023: Serbia 4–0 Greece 27 October 2023: Poland 2–1 Serbia 31 October 2023: Serbia 1–1 Poland 1 December 2023: Greece 0–2 Serbia 5 December 2023: Serbia 0–1 Ukraine

Promotion playoff:

23 February 2024: Serbia 1–1 Iceland 27 February 2024: Iceland 2–1 Serbia

UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualification

In the UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifiers, Serbia secured second place in their group, trailing only Scotland, and advanced to the playoff stage.

Group stage results:

5 April 2024: Serbia 0–0 Scotland 9 April 2024: Israel 2–4 Serbia 31 May 2024: Serbia 2–1 Slovakia 4 June 2024: Slovakia 0–4 Serbia 12 July 2024: Serbia 1–0 Israel 16 July 2024: Scotland 1–0 Serbia

Playoff semifinal:

25 October 2024: Bosnia and Herzegovina 2–2 Serbia 29 October 2024: Serbia 4–1 Bosnia and Herzegovina

Playoff final:

28 November 2024: Serbia 0–2 Sweden 3 December 2024: Sweden 6–0 Serbia

Although Serbia did not qualify for the final tournament, reaching the playoff final marked a historic achievement for the team.

Resignation

Following the playoff defeat to Sweden, Zečević resigned as head coach, expressing pride in the team's accomplishments and emphasizing the need for new leadership to continue the team's development.

Legacy

Zečević's tenure is remembered for: Leading Serbia to their first promotion playoff in the UEFA Women's Nations League Achieving second place in the UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying group Guiding the team to their first-ever playoff final for the European Championship Integrating young talent into the national team setup Increasing public support and visibility for women's football in Serbia

Youth coaching roles

Prior to his role with the senior national team, Zečević served as head coach for Serbia's U17 women's national team and, as of , holds the position of U19 women's head coach.