Branislav Ivanovic to become Serbia's most capped player

SAMARA: Branislav Ivanovic will become Serbia's most capped player after he was named in the side for their World Cup Group E opener against Costa Rica at the Samara Arena on Sunday.

The former Chelsea defender will make his 104th international appearance, surpassing the previous record of 103 which he held jointly with former midfielder Dejan Stankovic.

Serbia coach Mladen Krstajic, taking charge of his first competitive game, picked in-form striker Aleksandar Mitrovic to spearhead the attack.


Costa Rica have stuck with the spine of the team who reached the quarter-finals four years ago, with Real Madrid's Keylor Navas in goal, Deportivo La Coruna's Celso Borges in midfield and captain Bryan Ruiz as their main creative influence.


Starting line-ups for the World Cup Group E match between Costa Rica and Serbia at Samara Arena on Sunday (1200 GMT):

Costa Rica
Keylor Navas - Johnny Acosta, Giancarlo Gonzalez, Oscar Duarte, Francisco Calvo - Cristian Gamboa, Celso Borges, Bryan Ruiz - David Guzman, Johan Venegas, Marcos Urena

Coach: Oscar Ramirez (CRC)

Serbia
Vladimir Stojkovic - Dusko Tosic, Branislav Ivanovic, Aleksandar Kolarov - Nikola Milenkovic, Luka Milivojevic, Dusan Tadic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Nemanja Matic - Adem Ljajic, Aleksandar Mitrovic

Coach: Mladen Krstajic (SRB)