Serbia 0 Chile 1: World Cup qualifiers beaten in Graz

Serbia's World Cup preparations suffered a blow on Monday as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat against an understrength Chile side.

Mladen Krstajic's team failed to fire in their penultimate outing before the tournament in Russia and were beaten by Guillermo Maripan's 88th-minute goal in Graz.

The defender headed home Martin Rodriguez's cross from the left wing to spare the blushes of team-mate Angelo Henriquez, who had somehow failed to hit the target with the goal at his mercy earlier in the second half.

In a first half too often interrupted by the referee's whistle, Nemanja Radonjic tested Chile goalkeeper Gabriel Arias from distance while Aleksandar Kolarov – a constant outlet with his raids down the left flank –flashed a low shot across the face of goal from a tight angle.

Stojkovic was grateful for Henriquez's failure to convert Junior Fernandes' cross from close range but Maripan popped up with a deserved winner for the South American nation in the closing stages.