Serbia 5 Bolivia 1: Mitrovic hits treble for five-star Serbs
Serbia thumped Bolivia 5-1 as Aleksandar Mitrovic left with the matchball and Adem Ljajic and Branislav Ivanovic were also on target.
Aleksandar Mitrovic helped himself to a hat-trick as Serbia concluded their World Cup preparations with a 5-1 demolition of Bolivia in Graz.
Mladen Krstajic's side hit the front in the fourth minute when Mitrovic escaped the attentions of the Bolivia defence to power home Adem Ljajic's left-wing corner at the near post.
Ljajic got in on the act a quarter of an hour later when he crisply finished Dusan Tadic's pass from 12 yards and Mitrovic lashed beyond the helpless Guillermo Viscarra, whose backline appeared to have downed tools by the 23rd minute.
A seemingly aimless set-piece attack ended with Mitrovic hoofing the ball over his shoulder towards the far post, where Branislav Ivanovic gleefully found the target with a thunderous volley.
Left-winger Jhasmani Campos salvaged a modicum of pride for Cesar Farias' men in the 48th minute before Mitrovic claimed the matchball in style, rifling into the top right corner having advanced to the edge of the box amid more leisurely Bolivian defending.
Serbia have been drawn alongside Brazil and Costa Rica in Group E at Russia 2018, where they kick-off against Costa Rica next Sunday.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
‘Maybe I’ll be signed by Wrexham, who knows? English football would suit me – if an offer came, I wouldn’t think twice, I’d go immediately’ Euro 2024 cult hero reveals his UK dream
‘Managing Leeds? It was an option that appeared, but it wasn’t the right timing. I decided it wasn’t a good idea to leave the club I was at mid-season’: Premier League boss admits to turning down opportunity to replace Jesse Marsch in 2023