The FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia is going well as Captain Aleksandar Kolarov scored a superb free-kick to hand Serbia victory over Costa Rica in Group E. Roma defender beat Keylor Navas all ends up from 25 yards after David Guzman fouled Aleksandar Mitrovic. Giancarlo Gonzalez wasted Costa Rica's best chance of the first half as he sent a header wide of the post.
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Serbia, it seems, might well present more problems when they are not expected to drive games themselves. This was a grind, and largely because Costa Rica do not own the tools to intimidate.
Aleksandar Kolarov's quite marvellous 56th-minute free-kick meant an opening win for Mladen Krstajic on his first competitive game in charge and there was clear evidence why Europe's elite are queuing up for Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
Serbia actually sacked their former manager, Slavoljub Muslin, last October after he refused to pick the Lazio midfielder. The powers that be instead chose Krstajic, who is clearly building his team around a 23-year-old who has been watched by Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus.
Aleksandar Kolarov celebrates after giving Serbia the lead in their Group E opener against Costa Rica at the Samara Arena
Roma defender Kolarov unleashes a fantastic free-kick from 25 yards after Aleksandar Mitrovic is fouled by David Guzman
Kolarov's delicious curling drive sails past Giancarlo Gonzalez and Celso Borges and the rest of the ineffective Costa Rica wall
Keylor Navas immediately leaps to his left but cannot hope to keep out such a sweetly-struck effort from the Serbia captain
A jubilant Kolarov is mobbed by most of his team-mates after scoring the goal to defeat the 2014 quarter-finalists in Russia
The 32-year-old, who recovered from a knock to start against Costa Rica, was first named as Serbia skipper back in May
Newcastle firebrand Mitrovic looks on in dismay as he races through only to see his low attempt diverted wide by Navas
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic executes a brilliant overhead kick and his acrobatic effort is saved before the offside flag is raised
Defender Gonzalez cannot hit the target with a free header at the back post - much to the relief of Serbia's Vladimir Stojkovic
There is significant expectation on the shoulders of someone who has only recently made his international debut.
Milinkovic-Savic floated in behind Aleksandar Mitrovic, his sizeable frame adding yet more attacking height to the competition's tallest team. Dusan Tadic threatened fleetingly from the right, but Serbia's monopolising of possession came to very little.
They seemed stuck betwixt and between two ideologies. There almost seemed an embarrassment by their physical prowess, an insistence on ball retention and picking locks.
You would imagine Mitrovic, scorer of 12 in 15 starts for promoted Fulham and a hat-trick against Bolivia, would prefer something altogether more back to front.
And that brought about Serbia's best chance five minutes after half-time. Mitrovic held a long ball up powerfully, laying off for Milinkovic-Savic and setting off in behind the Costa Rica back five.
The through ball was perfectly weighted, Mitrovic was in, but thwarted one-on-one by Keylor Navas down to the goalkeeper's left.
That was the first time Oscar Ramirez's side had truly been breached, and it was they who carved out the more presentable opportunities beforehand. Unfortunately they both fell to centre-half Giancarlo Gonzalez, with just two international goals on his CV.
He headed straight at Vladimir Stojkovic and then inexplicably over the top from David Guzman's teasing cross.
Lazio's Milinkovic-Savic, one of the hottest midfield properties in European football, battles to keep David Guzman at bay
Nemanja Matic argues with Celso Borges and the Costa Rica bench during a sometimes feisty World Cup encounter
The Manchester United midfielder is on his own as he refuses to back down from a spat that followed the awarding of a throw
A VAR review is initiated after Oscar Duarte is caught by the flailing arm of substitute Serbia striker Aleksandar Prijovic
Real Madrid goalkeeper Navas, arguably Costa Rica's most famous player, gets down low to deny in-form frontman Mitrovic
Navas connects with a powerful, flying punch to clear the ball away from the Costa Rica six-yard box following a corner
Serbia's Dusko Tosic and Costa Rica defender Johnny Acosta both stay down in some discomfort after colliding in the air
Francisco Calvo flies into a heavy challenge on Southampton's Dusan Tadic and receives a yellow card for his troubles
Marco Urena, who plays his club football in America with Los Angeles FC, forces an early save from an alert Stojkovic
Serbia, though, were suddenly more direct and went ahead because of that in the 56th minute. Mitrovic, who had missed a decent chance from a corner, robbed Guzman and battered his way towards goal. Guzman could not help but haul the striker down 25 yards out.
Kolarov sized his options up from the right of the box and let fly. Navas waved the shot by, curling into his top left-hand corner with trademark whip.
Kolarov, the Serbia captain, was playing despite picking up a knock in the warm-up and it is that sort of grit the bottom seeds require should they progress from a group for the first time since being represented by Yugoslavia in 1998.
The problem for Costa Rica, after the last fortnight spent aimlessly chasing markers in questionable friendlies against England and Belgium, is they have forgotten how to attack. Gone are the days of 2014, when their exuberance won admirers and saw them reach the last eight.
This unimaginative 5-4-1 is not massively interchangeable and Ramirez encounters difficulties when they do go a goal behind.
Joel Campbell, their star performer in Brazil four years ago, looks a shell of his former self. Remarkably still on Arsenal's books, Campbell could not turn this fixture when introduced.
Serbia really ought to have doubled their lead. Again it was direct, again Milinkovic-Savic was involved, but substitute Filip Kostic failed to turn in Tadic's centre. It didn't matter, Costa Rica's only real flair came when Oscar Duarte fell theatrically to Aleksandar Prijovic's flailing arm, which prompted a VAR review but no red card.
Costa Rica head coach and former international Oscar Ramirez, 53, issues instructions to his players from the dugout
Branislav Ivanovic, who became Serbia's leading appearance-maker on his 104th cap, competes against Johan Venegas
A passionate Costa Rica fan, complete with sunglasses, hat and patriotic face paint, takes in the action at the Samara Arena
More Costa Rica supporters enjoy the pre-match atmosphere, hoping for a repeat of their team's heroics from Brazil in 2014
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