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Former Manchester City full-back Aleksander Kolarov scored a stunning free-kick as Serbia beat Costa Rica 1-0 in their opening Group E match.
The 32-year-old struck from 25-yards-out midway through the second-half as the European nation won the first ever match between the two sides.
It was a deserved win for Serbia, who enjoyed slightly less possession than their rivals but looked dangerous throughout on the counter-attack.
Sergej Milinković-Savić in particular looked dangerous while Newcastle United striker Aleksandar Mitrović had a good game leading the line. But how did the other players perform?
Show all 24 1 /24Costa Rica vs Serbia: Player ratings Costa Rica vs Serbia: Player ratings Costa Rica
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Costa Rica vs Serbia: Player ratings Keylor Navas - 6 out of 10 Commanding from set pieces against a tall Serbian side, could do nothing about Kolarov’s free kick.
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Costa Rica vs Serbia: Player ratings Johnny Acosta - 5 Strong and hard-working he did as well as could be expected against a tall Serbian side.
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Costa Rica vs Serbia: Player ratings Giancarlo Gonzalez - 7 Had the best chance of the first-half from a corner, and really should have done better.
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Costa Rica vs Serbia: Player ratings Oscar Duarte - 6 Did reasonably well against the power and height of the Serbians, looked vulnerable from set pieces.
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Costa Rica vs Serbia: Player ratings Cristian Gamboa - 6 Tried to overlap on the right as Costa Rica searched for an equaliser. Showed some rustiness from his lack of playing time for Celtic.
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Costa Rica vs Serbia: Player ratings Celso Borges - 6 As the game continued he pushed up to try and help a misfiring attack, but offered little.
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Costa Rica vs Serbia: Player ratings David Guzman - 6 A feisty character, picked up a yellow card, and couldn’t manage to stamp his authority on the game.
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Costa Rica vs Serbia: Player ratings Francisco Calvo - 6 Good on the ball, and one of the technically better players. Not afraid to try a shot, but didn’t come off for him today.
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Costa Rica vs Serbia: Player ratings Bryan Ruiz - 6 Kept things ticking over in the Costa Rica midfield, but had a tough task against the likes of Matic.
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Costa Rica vs Serbia: Player ratings Johan Venegas - 6 His pace and trickery the clearest attacking outlet for Costa Rica, but brought off early after Serbia’s goal.
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Costa Rica vs Serbia: Player ratings Marco Urena - 6 A constant menace for the Serbian defence, never gives up and runs for every ball.
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Costa Rica vs Serbia: Player ratings Serbia
Sergei Bobylev/TASS
Costa Rica vs Serbia: Player ratings Vladimir Stojkovic - 7 Had little to do, and will have stiffer opposition from the likes of Brazil in games to come.
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Costa Rica vs Serbia: Player ratings Branislav Ivanovic - 8 Vulnerable to Johan Venegas’ pace, but impressive going forward on the overlap with Tadic.
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Costa Rica vs Serbia: Player ratings Nikola Milenkovic - 7 Made some defensive mistakes, but his power and pace meant he always recovered.
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Costa Rica vs Serbia: Player ratings Dusko Tosic - 7 Did well against Joel Campbell in the second half, looked a solid presence in Serbia’s defence.
Yegor Aleyev/TASS
Costa Rica vs Serbia: Player ratings Aleksandar Kolarov - 8 Survived an injury scare in the warm-up to put in a solid display, and his brilliant free-kick the difference between the sides.
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Costa Rica vs Serbia: Player ratings Luka Milivojevic - 7 Improved towards the end of the match as Costa Rica came forward. Will face tougher tests.
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Costa Rica vs Serbia: Player ratings Nemanja Matic - 7 A quiet display from one of the stars of this team, but had little to do and will rise to the challenge of tougher opposition.
Sergei Bobylev/TASS
Costa Rica vs Serbia: Player ratings Dusan Tadic - 7 Made a bright start down the right, but as often, sometimes tried to take on one too many players.
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Costa Rica vs Serbia: Player ratings Sergej Milinkovic-Savic - 8 Showed his inexperience to lose Giancarlo Gonzalez at a corner early on, but displayed plenty of his attacking talent.
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Costa Rica vs Serbia: Player ratings Adem Ljajic - 7 The first of the Serbians to be sacrificed, tired towards the end of his display and put in an average performance.
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Costa Rica vs Serbia: Player ratings Aleksandar Mitrovic - 7 A powerful presence spearheading Serbia’s attack, earned the free kick which Kolarov converted, but missed two clear chances of his own.
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Find out our player ratings by checking the gallery above. Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comment section below .
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