Another Aleksandar – former Manchester City defender Kolarov – made the decisive contribution ten minutes into the second half, curling a superb free kick over Los Ticos’ wall and into the top corner of the net.

Moments earlier, Mitrović had missed a good chance to open the scoring, firing straight at Keylor Navas after playing a neat one-two with the impressive Sergej Milinković-Savić.

The United forward was replaced by a third Aleksandar – Prijović – in the final minute of normal time, and Serbia held out to record a morale-boosting victory.

With Brazil and Switzerland playing out a 1-1 draw, the Orlovi sit at the top of Group E ahead of Friday’s game against the Swiss, where another victory will make sure of their passage to the last 16.

That clash will take place in Kaliningrad, where Serbia are based for the duration of the tournament.