Reuters
Aleksandar Kolarov produced a moment of captain's inspiration, curling home a superb free kick as Serbia got their World Cup Group E campaign up and running with a 1-0 victory over Costa Rica on Sunday.
With the Central Americans proving a tough nut to crack, Kolarov stepped up to bury a 25-metre effort from wide on the right, lighting up an otherwise tight game in the southern Russian city of Samara.
Serbia had dominated against a Costa Rica side who rarely threatened after a bright start, but chances were thin on the ground until Kolarov made the breakthrough in the 56th minute.
"Frankly speaking, there was a great deal of pressure on the team, and on me, over the past seven months," said the Serbia coach, who took the job in October.
Krstajic's relief was matched in equal measure by the disappointment of Costa Rica boss Oscar Ramirez, whose side are in a precarious position.
If Costa Rica are going to recover, however, they will need to rediscover the defensive organization and clinical counter-attacks that propelled them to the quarter-finals four years ago.
