Serbia, Costa Rica bring contrasting styles to play

Attack has proved something of a dirty word for some smaller nations in recent editions of the global showpiece with a packed defence often proving the greatest weapon for teams not blessed with the biggest talents. Costa Rica showed four years ago in reaching the quarter-finals that the ability to frustrate opponents with a far greater pedigree can take you a long way, as long as you can back up defensive organization with a decent counter-punch.

It has shown little in qualification for Russia or in its warm-up matches to suggest it will now cast off the shackles and, given the sport’s recent history of rewarding teams who play it safe, it may feel there is little incentive to change.

Tiny Iceland’s run to the quarters at Euro 2016 was the latest example of how caution has become the most reliable means of over-achieving and Costa Rica is seemingly designed according to that blueprint. It plays with five at the back and pack the rest of the team with players who understand their defensive responsibilities.

Yet while history has numerous examples of underdogs defying their status by defending in mass, there are far fewer occasions when minnows have excelled by casting caution to the wind. Serbia, however, is not built to defend and will hope its attacking talents can compensate for shortcomings at the back.

Its coach Mladen Krstajic is likely to stick with the adventurous 4-2-3-1 formation. The good news for Serbia is that Mitrovic and influential attacking midfielder Adem Ljajic have both recovered from minor knocks and trained with the rest of the team on Wednesday.

Krstajic undoubtedly has plenty of midfield and attacking talent at his disposal, but it is a different story at the back. Creaking veterans like Branislav Ivanovic and Aleksandar Kolarov will need to rediscover their heyday if Serbia is to keep opponents at bay in Russia.

They are likely to be joined at the back by the inexperienced yet highly-rated 20-year-old centre half Nikola Milenkovic, who has been dubbed the ‘new Nemanja Vidic’ after impressive performances in the build-up.