Did Montenegro participate in the World Cup?

On my official World Cup team list, it says Serbia and Montenegro, but if you’ve been following global events recently, you will know that Serbia and Montenegro are now two different countries. Based on the results of a referendum held on May 21, 2006, Montenegro declared independence on June 3, 2006. Montenegro was recognised as an independent nation by Serbia on June 15 and on June 28, it became the 192nd member state of the United Nations.

I caught up with some Serbians and asked them whether Montenegro was in the World Cup, and they said that the only starter on the team from Montenegro is the goalkeeper, who happened to let in 6 goals against Argentina. Hmmm. Great Argentine football or international sabotage, I wondered? Now that Serbia and Montenegro* is out of the tournament, the Serbian fans boldly asserted that the tiny country of Montenegro will have no chance at qualifying for another World Cup without Big Brother Serbia. They might be right. With only 600,000 people to choose from, the Montenegro national team will have a difficult time competing for a spot in South Africa 2010. Perhaps because they were too busy celebrating their independence from Serbia, I was hard pressed to find even one fan who made the trip from Montenegro to the World Cup to support Serbia and/or the Montenegro goalkeeper.