The trip went smoothly, and after a short rest, the players will get a chance to check out the Lotto Arena surface later tonight.

Assistant coach Perica Trifković gave a brief reflection on the team’s recent work in Zenica: "I’ve got to say we in the coaching staff are pleased with how the team responded to the preparation plan and how they handled the six training sessions in Zenica. It’s already known that Radujković will miss the matches against Belgium due to injury, but the rest of the players here are highly motivated and fully aware of the importance of these two games. We know the matches will be demanding, physically and tactically, which is why we’re glad the players arrived in good shape and executed everything we asked of them. The team’s work and behavior so far have been impeccable, which says a lot about the character of this team.

It’s good that the players get an early feel for the court. We’ve already analyzed Belgium, they’re a very good team, and the fact they reached the play-offs and beat Serbia twice in qualifiers says enough about their performance. They’re disciplined and defensively strong, and we’ve prepared seriously for them. I hope we play well in this first match on Friday and come back with a positive result. That would give us extra motivation to pull off something big in the return leg in Zenica on September 24, in a packed Arena, with the support of our fans."

Tomorrow, our team will hold two more training sessions, including the official one at 19:00 in Lotto Arena.