A Richarlison brace has given Brazil a winning start to the World Cup campaign as they overcame Serbia 2-0 on Friday. Richarlison scored both goals in the second half, one of which was a sublime overhead kick. They had to dwell in the first hour of the match but eventually the Selecao were bright and beautiful at the Lusail Iconic Stadium.
Brazil were by far the better side in the match as they dominated every sector of the pitch. The win means they are level on points with their Group G rivals Switzerland, who earlier won against Cameroon.
As it Happened:
Brazil, who haven't lost a World Cup group stage match this century, started the brighter of the two sides. Vinicius Junior and Richarlison created chances while Neymar's direct corner strike was just kept out by Vanja Milinkovic-Savic at the Serbia goal. Vinicius Junior and Raphinha had chances to put the Canaries ahead, but the Serbian keeper came to the aid of his team on multiple occasions. Brazil were by far the superior team, creating numerous chances but failed to break the deadlock as both teams entered the break with a blank.
It was an equally blistering start from Brazil after the break but the Serbian defense rebuffed them every time. Raphinha, Richarlison all were denied scoring opportunities by some resilient defending. Alex Sandro came close to giving his team the lead but was denied by the post. The elusive goal for Brazil came in the 62nd minute when Richarlison scored from the rebound of Vinicius Junior's shot, initially saved by Vanja.
It was Richarlison again 12 minutes later to extend Brazil's lead with an acrobatic finish. The Spurs striker finished it off with a magnificent overhead kick past Vanja to double the lead for the Selecao. Moments later, Casemiro's strike rattled the bar as Brazil came agonisingly close to a third.
It ended at 2-0 for Brazil as the Selecao made a winning start to their campaign.
Brazil vs Serbia Lineup:
Brazil: Alisson; Danilo, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Sandro; Paquetá (Fred), Casemiro, Raphinha (Martinelli), Neymar (Antony), Vinicius Jr. (Rodrygo); Richarlison (Gabriel Jesus)
Serbia: Vanja; Veljkovic, Milenkovic, Pavlovic; Zivkovic (Radonjic), Lukic (Lazovic), Gudelj (Ilic), Mladenovic (Vlahovic), Milinkovic-Savic, Tadic; Mitrovic (Maksimovic)
Aftermath:
With the win, the Canaries move to the top of Group G, same number of points with Switzerland but with a superior goal difference. Brazil's next game is against Switzerland on 28th November while Serbia will take on Cameroon earlier on the same day.
Key Stats: