Serbia in good form downing Costa Rica, 1-0, after free kick

SAMARA, RUSSIA — With a curling free kick that decided the outcome of the match, Aleksandar Kolarov immediately drew some comparisons to Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Serbia captain’s left-footed strike proved to be the difference in a 1-0 victory over Costa Rica on Sunday at soccer’s World Cup. It came two days after Ronaldo scored a similar goal to give Portugal a 3-3 draw with Spain.

“It was an amazing goal,”

Costa Rica defender Bryan Oviedo said of Kolarov’s effort.

“Maybe two out 10 balls will go in like that.”

After Costa Rica midfielder David Guzman was handed a yellow card, Kolarov stepped up and curled his shot over the wall and into the net in the 56th minute. Keylor Navas, the Costa Rica goalkeeper who plays for Real Madrid, stretched but couldn’t stop the swerving ball.

It was the third free kick goal so far at the World Cup: Russia midfielder Aleksandr Golovin had one in stoppage time in the 5-0 tournament opener against Saudi Arabia and Ronaldo capped his hat trick against

Spain with the other.

“We knew that set pieces were our forte,” said Kolarov, who now plays for Roma after a stint with Manchester City. “We practised them on the training ground. I practised set pieces, and this was enough for three points.”

The victory gave the Serbians the early advantage in a tough Group E, which also includes five-time champion Brazil and Switzerland.

“It’s especially important that we have three points in the bag,” Kolarov said. “The match against Switzerland is going to be the most difficult one. Of course we want to win.