“Earlier, I finished the talks with Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and Finance Minister Sinisa Mali and [now I am] ‘authorized' to say that the team, should they win [the World Cup], will receive a record award of ten million euros,” Vucic said.

The president added that if the team finished runners-up they would get 5 million euros (almost $5.9 million) and if the players reached the round of 16, they would be awarded 500,000 euro (almost $600,000).

"I don't think it's such big money for you... but we wanted to show you how important it is to our country that you should represent it the best way possible," the president said.

Russia will host its first-ever FIFA World Cup from June 14 to July 15 at 12 stadiums in 11 cities across the country. Serbia will play five-time World Cup winners Brazil, Switzerland and Costa Rica in Group E.