World Cup 2018: 3 things Serbia got right in 1-0 win over Costa Rica

Modified Jun 17, 2018 14:29 GMT

FBL-WC-2018-MATCH10-CRC-SRB — Serbia edged past Costa Rica in their opening World Cup fixture

#1 Set-piece dominance

Costa Rica v Serbia: Group E - 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia — What an absolutely stunning freekick that was

With the likes of Mitrovic, Matic, Kolarov, Ivanovic, Tosic and Milenkovic in the lineup, it is not really surprising that Serbia were the more dominant team in set-pieces. They saw off every Costa Rican set-piece with aplomb and proved to be difficult to handle when long balls started to be sprayed all over the pitch.

This Serbian team is quite dangerous from set-pieces and this is harmonized with Kolarov's set-piece taking abilities. It was his absolutely unstoppable curler from 30 yards out that ultimately proved to be the difference between the two teams despite all the control the Serbs experienced throughout the game.

Kolarov's shot was as fast as a tracer bullet and the Champions League winning goalkeeper, Keylor Navas could not get a fingertip on it and it really was not for the lack of trying.

With such towering figures on the field and with Kolarov dispensing the short setpiece duties, you don't want to concede cheap freekicks against these mighty Serbs.

About the author

Shambhu is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who focuses on previews, listicles and news articles. An ardent Manchester United supporter since before his teenage years, he started following the Red Devils by age 10 watching MUTV on television. Shambhu is also a highly-revered rapper and a playback singer on Spotify, having a whopping 1 million monthly listeners.

For his articles, Shambhu believes in triple-checking every piece of information, relying on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and Opta, and staying away from speculative publications. He believes that his law degree helped him to be more articulate and meticulous with his content and one of his core strengths is seamlessly involving emotion in his write-ups owing to the love for the sport. For Sportskeeda, has done exclusive interviews with Spanish legends Gaizka Mendieta and Fernando Morientes so far, and his articles boast of a huge readership of close to 50 million.

Shambhu's favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and the Argentine attaining glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment. He believes only Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could replicate Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's rivalry in the years to come. His favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson due to the Scot's unmatched longevity at the top.

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Edited by Amit Mishra