Costa Rica vs Serbia, World Cup 2018 player ratings: Aleksandar Kolarov and Branislav Ivanovic as dependable as ever

Serbia beat Costa Rica 1-0 in the opening match of Group E thanks to former Manchester City man Kolarov's superb free-kick

Molly Hudson
Sunday 17 June 2018 09:46 EDT
Comments
Robbie Williams performs at 2018 World Cup opening ceremony

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

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?

Find out our player ratings by checking the gallery above. Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comment section below.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in