Costa Rica face Serbia in Sunday's World Cup Group E curtain-raiser in Samara.
Los Ticos reached the quarter-finals at World Cup 2014 in Brazil, having secured top spot in a group that featured Uruguay, Italy and England.
Oscar Ramirez leads his nation into this tournament for the first time and the manager, who played every minute of Costa Rica's World Cup campaign in 1990, would dearly love to replicate the stunning success of four years ago.
Latest odds
Costa Rica can be backed at 19/5 (4.80) to kick off their campaign by seeing off Serbia, while bet365 go 9/4 (3.25) that these two teams are forced to settle for a share of the spoils.
Serbia have only once before competed at the World Cup as an independent nation - in 2010 - when a superb victory against Germany was sandwiched between dismal defeats against both Ghana and Australia.
bet365 go 19/20 (1.95) that the Serbs start their 2018 World Cup campaign with a win this weekend as they look to avoid another group stage exit.
Team news
Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas will again be between the posts for Costa Rica while former Fulham star Bryan Ruiz is the captain of Los Ticos.
Nemanja Matic will provide Serbian steel in midfield, while Aleksandar Mitrovic, Dusan Tadic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic will be charged with providing the spark in attack.
Serbia to strike?
Slavoljub Muslin steered Serbia to top spot in their qualification group but he has since departed his role as manager and so Mladen Krstajic will be in the dugout.
Despite uncertainty off the pitch, Serbia are still capable of scoring goals. Indeed, they have scored in all but one of their last 12 matches, with the in-form Mitrovic scoring a sublime hat-trick in the country's final World Cup warm up fixture, a 5-1 win against Bolivia.
Serbia are a 5/4 (2.25) shot to score more than once against Costa Rica, while bet365 go 7/4 (2.75) that the European outfit win to nil.
Predictions
Los Ticos will be hopeful of another bold World Cup showing, but Serbia's superior firepower could give them the edge in Samara on Sunday.
It is, therefore, the 19/20 (1.95) quote from bet365 for Serbia to secure a vital victory that could provide best value here.
Odds correct at time of writing. Please gamble responsibly.
Serbia to win at 19/20 (1.95) for a 2pt stake with bet365