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Day 4 of the WC 2018 proved to be another spectacular one.
Aleksandar Kolarov scored a spectacular free-kick to give Serbia a deserved victory in their opening World Cup Group E match against Costa Rica.
Mexico and Germany put together one of the most entertaining games you'll see this tournament. Defending champions Germany have crashed to their first defeat in an opening game of a World Cup since 1982. Hirving Lozano's first-half strike saw Mexico stun World Cup holders Germany.
Brazil failed to win their opening World Cup match for the first time in 40 years. Steven Zuber’s controversial header cancelled out Philippe Coutinho’s gorgeous goal. Coutinho’s goal was a moment of pure theatre but Brazil’s measure of control evaporated once Switzerland scored and the tide began to turn.
We've taken the best performers from Day 4 and put them together into a combined XI. Here, we line up our team in a 4-3-3 system:
Defence
Goalkeeper
Guillermo Ochoa (Mexico)
Mexico got themselves off to the perfect start with a win against the defending champions -and a clean sheet. In a Mexico shirt at the World Cup, Ochoa becomes a wall between the sticks.
He made 9 saves against Germany, the most of any goalkeeper in a single World Cup game so far.
Guillermo Ochoa is the second goalkeeper in World Cup history with clean sheets against Brazil and Germany, joining Poland's Jan Tomaszewski in 1974 and 1978.
Defenders
Right-back: Branislav Ivanović (Serbia)
Branislav Ivanovic broke Dejan Stankovic's Serbia appearance record. He is now on 104 caps for his nation. The former Chelsea man rolled back the years for Serbia against Costa Rica with an assured performance.
Ivanović had one dribble in this match and also he won five tackles and one aerial duel. Further, he had a passing accuracy of 74%
Centre-back: Nikola Milenković (Serbia)
Accolades and spotlights are being grabbed by others, but Nikola Milenkovic's game last night in defence was impeccable. Great placement, very well cut and fast.
Milenkovic won two out of his three tackles and two out of his three aerial duels while making seven clearances with a passing accuracy of 89%.
Centre-back: Manuel Akanji (Switzerland)
It's easy to see why Manuel Akanji is so highly rated. In the game against Brazil, Gabriel Jesus offered literally nothing because Akanji pocketed him. Further, he hardly did anything wrong in 90 minutes.
The Borussia Dortmund defender was solid as a rock with 4 tackles won and 3 clearances. Also, he won 7 duels and he made 72 passes in the game.
Very mature, once again.
Left-back: Aleksandar Kolarov (Serbia)
Aleksandar Kolarov scored the first World Cup goal for Serbia since Marko Pantelic in 2010 against Australia.
He produced a moment of inspiration fitting for a captain, curling home a superb free-kick as Serbia got their World Cup campaign up and running with a 1-0 victory over Costa Rica.
Kolarov became the first Serbian player to score from a direct free kick at the World Cup since Sinisa Mihajlovic against Iran on 14th June 1998.
Midfield
Defensive Midfielder: Hector Herrera (Mexico)
Héctor Herrera completely dominated the 'world-class' midfielders opposite him, with and without the ball. In fact, he was absolutely brilliant and was the key whenever Mexico switched to attack as quickly as they did.
In this match, he made 6 successful dribbles with 7 tackles. He was dispossessed only once and also he got a yellow card. Notably, he managed to cover over 10km in the game. Quite a shift, indeed.
Central Midfielder: Sergej Milinković-Savić (Serbia)
Sergej Milinkovic Savić played an extraordinary game against Costa Rica. He had been left out for tactical reasons by previous manager Muslin but he is now an integral part of the side under Mladen Krstajić. He worked really hard off the ball to be available.
With technical dexterity combined with a physical profile that is quite often unplayable, the Serbian won 4 aerial duels in this match and also he made 4 successful dribbles.
Central Midfielder: Philippe Coutinho (Brazil)
Philippe Coutinho scored a beautiful curler to put Brazil up 1-0 against Switzerland. These shots are his trademark. Beside this goal, Coutinho took 3 more shots.
In all fairness, and even besides the goal, probably Brazil's best player throughout the 90 minutes. Coutinho's performance was a bright point in a game to forget.
Forwards
Left-Winger: Hirving Lozano (Mexico)
Hirving Lozano ran the show for Mexico yesterday. What a wonderful performance. He is certainly going to be in demand after this World Cup. With great skill, composure and attitude, he is a versatile and mobile forward who is capable of playing anywhere along the front line.
He was the top scorer for Mexico during qualifications and also the top scorer for PSV in the 2017-18 Eredivisie season and now, his first World Cup goal came against the reigning champions.
Right-Winger: Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland)
He gets accused of being lazy quite a lot but Shaqiri put in a very good shift last night. All within the context of a game plan. Switzerland scored with a Steven Zuber header from a Shaqiri corner and that was an unbelievable delivery.
Surely, after this World Cup, many top European teams will want to see him in their squad
Centre-Forward: Aleksandar Mitrović (Serbia)
Serbia secured all three points in a nervy but deserved win against Costa Rica, but Mitrovic could have made the win a lot smoother. He played 90 minutes but was subbed off in injury time.
Against Costa Rica, Serbia's game plan was all about serving him and Sergej Milinković Savić.
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