World Cup 2018: 3 things Serbia did wrong in defeat to Switzerland

#2 Relying too much on the old guard

Ivanovic was a busy man

Serbia’s defense is one of the oldest in the competition. The back four of Kolarov, Ivanovic, Milenkovic and Tosic all have a combined total of over 300 international caps among themselves.

Whilst this brought plenty of experience in the defense, a relatively slower pace was the issue. Save for Kolarov, who provided a spark with his energetic run down the flanks, the rest of the defense looked nervy and off-the-pace when the Swiss pressed high.

Ivanovic in particular was under the cosh and made some heart-stopping clearances that conceded cheap corners. One of those almost ended up in his own net as Serbia for one hot second feared falling back with an own goal.

Milenkovic and Tosic were in no man’s land for large spells of the second-half, found constantly out of position and left the former Chelsea stalwart to do most of the dirty work.

Serbia lacked proper communication at the back and were thrown in a tizzy whenever the Swiss tried to break on the counter.