Southampton: Tadic and Serbia win courtesy of Kolarov
By Marc Walker
Southampton winger Dusan Tadic played 83 minutes as Serbia claimed a victory in their opening World Cup game against Costa Rica.
Their triumph by 1-0 came courtesy of a superb Aleksandar Kolarov free-kick 10 minutes into the second-half, and they had been deserved winners overall on the balance of play.
Tadic himself had looked bright for much of the contest and in the same late-season form that he had showed in the Premier League for Saints.
During the time he was on the pitch, he three crosses, one key pass and one through ball. His most impressive moment could have given him an assist too.
He collected the ball in the box and delayed his pass perfectly to meet the oncoming Mitrovic, but the striker couldn’t quite turn the ball home from close-range.
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Tadic seemed to be boosted by the appointment of Mark Hughes at St Mary’s in the final matches of 2017/18 and Saints fans will be hoping that the tricky winger of old returns full-time.
With 53 caps and 13 goals for his country, he remains one of their most creative players going forward in a very talented squad overall.
It would seem as though Serbia will be fighting it out for second place in group E with Switzerland and Costa Rica with Brazil strong favourites to progress in first.
Tadic will hope to play a part in their next two group matches against the Swiss next Friday and then in a tough test versus Brazil on Wednesday 27th.
This win will then put the pressure on Serbia’s opponents, with Brazil and Switzerland facing each other this evening.
If Serbia can progress past the group stage and through to the quarter-finals stage, it is possible that Tadic could come up against Maya Yoshida’s Japan or Jan Bednarek’s Poland, with all three countries in the same half of the draw.