Despite regularly impressing at U-21 level (11 appearances, six goals), Jovic's call-up to the 23-man final selection was something of a surprise given that the 20-year-old had not previously won a senior Serbia cap at the time of the squad's unveiling.
His stunning displays for Frankfurt in the second half of the season, however –notably that audacious winning goal against Schalke in the DFB Cup semi-final – drew the attention of Krstajic and led to his final selection; Jovic's decision to join the Eagles from Benfica's reserves last summer has paid off handsomely.
Off on holiday, and not to Russia
If at the time of Jovic's arrival one of the Eagles' two Serbians was earmarked for a spot in Serbia's final squad, then it was Gacinovic. Since making his senior debut last March, the former Bosnia-Herzegovina youth international has won seven caps, impressing with goals against Georgia and Moldova in qualifying.
A versatile, dynamic midfielder, Gacinovic was unable to hold down a regular place in the Frankfurt side during the second half of the Bundesliga campaign – in contrast to Jovic – and not even a goal in the 3-1 DFB Cup final victory against FC Bayern München was enough to win over Krstajic.
Serbia's Group E fixtures: Costa Rica (17 June, Samara), Switzerland (22 June, Kaliningrad), Brazil (27 June, Moscow)
Best FIFA World Cup finish (as Serbia, not Serbia and Montenegro): 2010, fourth in Group D
World Cup 2014: Did not qualify
World Cup 2018 expectations: Brazil are Group E favourites, but Serbia will hope to see off the challenges of Switzerland and Costa Rica to reach the round of 16 as runners-up. If Krstajic's troops do finish second, they will face the winner of Group F, expected to be Germany.
The key players: Although ranked 34th in the world, Serbia boast some household names: Manchester United's Nemanja Matic (estimated value: €40million) and Spain-born Lazio star Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (estimated value: €70million), 23, will form an imposing midfield partnership.
