Richarlison had a World Cup debut for the ages as his brace led Brazil to a well deserved 2-0 opening win over Serbia.
Though overall generally dominant, Brazil didn’t start out perfect. The first half hour saw a handful of sloppy moments within the second and final third, with nerves being quite prevalent within the relatively inexperienced World Cup squad.
Despite the few miscues, Brazil maintained total control of the game from the relentless defensive pressure Tite’s men held. FIFA’s #1 ranked men’s team didn’t take long to make an effect on the game, keeping Serbia on their toes within 12 minutes through a near olimpico goal from a determined and mature Neymar.
New Barcelona starlet Raphinha found himself in a splendid chance twenty minutes later, directing a shot straight at Vanja Milinkovic-Savic on the end of a defense-splitting give and go.”
Brazil maintained an intense mid-to-high press throughout the first game, never really letting Serbia get comfortable on either side of the ball. Vinisius Jr. would have opened the scoring in the 41st minute after latching onto a precise ball over the top from former Real Madrid teammate Casemiro if it weren’t for a last-ditch Nikola Milenković touch.
The second half picked up immediately where the first left off when another high press from Raphinha yielded another massive chance less than a minute from the restart.
Serbia almost hands Brazil a huge gift to start the second half! 😳 pic.twitter.com/VkvNYQmHTZ
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) November 24, 2022
The stubborn Serbian defense finally cracked in the 62nd minute. Neymar bested two pressing defenders at the top of the box with a simple but deceptive drop of the shoulder, opening space for Vinicius Jr. to curl an effort with enough power to rebound out to an opportunistic Richarlison. The Tottenham forward made no mistake, opening his and his country’s World Cup account.
Despite the spike in Brazilian momentum, Serbia looked keen to respond. A Strahinja Pavlović header off a 69th minute corner gave Alisson and his defense the most to worry about, forcing Marquinhos into a headed clearance nearly off the goal line.
Soon after, Brazil flexed their attacking quality and control on the game with one of the early contenders for goal of the tournament. Vinicius Jr. found Richarlison just inside the Serbian penalty area with a cheeky trivela cross. A less-than-ideal first touch provided the forward with an opportunity to contort his body against his original momentum and fire off a beautifully brutal scissor kick that would make Zlatan proud.
ARE YOU SERIOUS RICHARLISON?! 😱😱🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/FQX0f45byh
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) November 24, 2022
With the scoreline at 2-0 with 15 minutes left Brazil took comfortable control of the game, settling into a game management mode that even still bore a few chances to sink a third. The closest of those chances came just on the other side of 80 minutes when Casemiro took a break from his relentless defensive performance to fire off a curler that left the crossbar ringing until the final whistle, and had him almost wheeling away in celebration from the moment it left his foot.
His Manchester United teammates contributed to the continuous Brazilian attack, with a Fred shot from distance forcing a save and Antony setting up a Rodrygo chance within minutes of each other.
The seven minutes of stoppage time weren’t enough for Serbia to find any consolation, though they never really looked to have the footing to mount a serious attacking presence through the entire 90 minutes. The Seleção happily took the three points and the shut out, but not without the blemish of yet another Neymar World Cup injury to worry about. More clarity on his ankle is said to be expected in the next day or two, and could have a huge effect on how Tite prepares for what looks to be a tough matchup with Switzerland on Monday.
