The Ticos of Costa Rica were one of the surprises of Brazil 2014, making the quarterfinals and finishing the tournament without an actual defeat (losing on penalties to the Netherlands), but things aren’t looking as promising this time around.
Serbia meanwhile are back after several years of disappointment at the international level. Led by ex-Chelsea boys Branislav Ivanović and Nemanja Matić, they will be looking to make the impact not really expected of them.
For both teams, this is a must win, with the other two Group E teams, Brazil and Switzerland playing in the late game today.
Congrats to Bane for making his 104th appearance for Serbia, a national record!
Costa Rica starting lineup (3-4-3):
Navas | Duarte, Gonzalez, Acosta | Calvo, Guzman, Borges, Gamboa | Venegas, Urena, Ruiz
Substitutes from: Smith, Bolanos, Oviedo, Colindres, Campbell, Wallace, Azofeifa, Tejeda, Pemberton, Waston, Gutierrez, Moreira
Serbia starting lineup (4-3-3):
Stojkovic | Kolarov, Tosic, Milenkovic, Ivanovic | Milinkovic-Savic, Matic, Milivojevic | Ljajic, Mitrovic, Tadic
Substitutes from: Rukavina, Spajic, Zivkovic, Prijovic, Rajkovic, Veljkovic, Rodic, Grujic, Kostic, Radonjic, Jovic, Dmitrovic
Date / Time: Sunday, June 17, 2018, 13:00 BST; 8am EDT
Venue: Cosmos Arena, Samara
Referee: Malang Diedhiou (Senegal)
On TV: ITV 1 (UK); FOX, Telemundo (USA); elsewhere
Streaming online: ITV Hub (UK); FOX Sports Go, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo; Sling World Cup (USA)