Luka Milivojevic has admitted it has been difficult for him being left out of the Serbia squad following his row with coach Mladen Krstajic after the World Cup.
The Crystal Palace captain, who scored two penalties to earn the Eagles a point against Arsenal on Sunday, has not played for Serbia since he criticised Krstajic in Russia last summer.
The situation has clearly affected Milivojevic this season. Roy Hodgson has said Milivojevic is “absolutely distraught” at being overlooked by his national team and the midfielder’s performances in the early part of the campaign dipped from last season.
Milivojevic has improved in recent matches and, after being named man-of-the-match against Arsenal, he opened up on his situation with Serbia.
“It has been a bit difficult,” admitted the 27-year-old. “But it is a very clear situation between me and the people from my national team. They know why I decided to be angry [with] them. They know it and we will see in the future what is going to happen.”
Milivojevic held his nerve to convert twice from 12 yards against Arsenal, a week after he missed a penalty against Everton that cost Palace at Goodison Park.
His first goal was the first time Palace had scored at Selhurst Park this season, ending a run of 417 minutes without a home goal stretching back to the final game of last season.
Milivojevic said: “I felt pressure but I believed in myself that I was going to score. There was no doubt who was going to take it. I am very happy because the manager gave me support when I missed against Everton. That meant a lot to me. I gave back a little bit.”
Milivojevic’s second penalty equalised against Arsenal seven minutes from time to earn Palace a deserved point and edge them three points above the relegation zone.
Milivojevic said: “The next game is against Chelsea and it will not be easy. But this performance will give us confidence. We have played well this season but we have dropped a lot of points. This will affect the team in a positive way.”
MORE ABOUT