Serbia claim a deserved World Cup win over Costa Rica

Costa Rica 0
Serbia 1
Kolarov 56

Three things we learned...

1Magnificent Milinkovic-Savic lives up to the hype
The hype is justified. Lazio want £100m for midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and if he carries on this form they will surely get every penny for a 23-year-old destined for the top.

It's rare to see a player possess the finesse of a ballet dancer and the height of a NBA basketball star but Milinkovic-Savic has dazzled in Serie A this season and he more than justified his starting place in Serbia's 1-0 win over Costa Rica.

On another day he could have had a couple of assists and a world-class goal but his overhead kick was saved. However this is only the start of the Milinkovic-Savic hype train which, if the rumours are true, is more likely destined for Turin rather than Manchester.

2Serbia could be tricky opponents for Group E rivals
They started and finished the game nervously but Serbia were well worth their three points which came courtesy of captain Aleksandar Kolarov's excellent second-half free kick.

Serbia were relatively solid at the back, Nemanja Matic controlled midfield and there was much to admire about Milinkovic-Savic's link-up play with hard-working forward Aleksandar Mitrovic.

The striker missed a couple of decent chances but he looks a real handful even allowing for the fact that tougher tests are to come.

3Costa Rica need key men to return to fitness
It's Brazil next for Costa Rica and they may need to risk Joel Campbell from the start despite the Arsenal man lacking fitness.

He got only 23 minutes against Serbia but looked much more of a threat than the man he replaced, Marco Urena. If Campbell does not start, expect the Ticos to fire blanks again.

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