Brazil looked every bit the part of 2022 World Cup favorites, with Richarlison casting himself the star of the show in a 2-0 victory vs Serbia, one of the tournament’s most popular dark-horse picks, at Lusail Iconic Stadium in Lusail, Qatar on Thursday.
The Tottenham forward made it a World Cup debut to remember for a lifetime, as he gave the five-time world champions a deserved 1-0 lead in the 62nd minute. That memory turned into something of an iconic World Cup moment just 11 minutes later, when the 25-year-old scored an incredible overhead kick to put the game away.
Richarlison received a stinging pass from Vinicius, with the ball looping high in the air as three defenders encircled him near the penalty spot. Lusail Iconic Stadium, which is set to host the World Cup final on Dec. 18, erupted when the ball hit the back of the net, as if every seat inside the 86,000-capacity ground was filled with a canary yellow shirt.
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The victory puts Brazil (3 points) atop Group G, ahead of Switzerland on goal difference following their victory over Cameroon earlier on Thursday.
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Stars of the show
Richarlison: It’s hard to imagine a better World Cup debut than the one Richarlison enjoyed on Thursday, and it’s hard to imagine Tite will be taking him out of the starting lineup anytime soon.
Vanja Milinkovic-Savic: The Serbian goalkeeper made six saves on the night and kept the final score from getting out of hand, but unfortunately he needed to make two more.
How to watch Brazil vs Serbia live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 2pm ET - Thursday, November 24Stadium: Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail TV channels en Español: TelemundoStreaming en Español: Peacock (all 64 matches)
Key storylines, players to watch closely
Where do we even start with Brazil? The aforementioned attackers are the main focus and Tite will be kept very busy trying to keep all of his superstar forwards happy. At the other end of the pitch Alisson is the best goalkeeper in the world and the experience and partnership of Thiago Silva and Marquinhos, with Casemiro sitting ahead of them, will be tough to break down.
Serbia crashed out of the group stage of the last World Cup (they lost 2-0 to Brazil in a tight game) but they still played extremely well and are a lot of fun to watch. From Tadic pulling the strings to Mitrovic bullying defenders, then Dusan Vlahovic and Luka Jovic other attacking threats and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic running the show in midfield, if all of their stars are fully-fit and in top form, Serbia will take some beating.
Brazil quick facts
Current FIFA world ranking: 1
World Cup titles: 5 (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002)
World Cup appearances: 22
How they qualified: Qualified automatically from CONMEBOL (1st place)
Coach: Tite
Key players: Neymar, Thiago Silva, Casemiro, Alisson Becker
Escalação da Seleção Brasileira CONFIRMADA!
— CBF Futebol (@CBF_Futebol) November 24, 2022
Logo mais a bola rola para a estreia do Brasil na Copa do Mundo FIFA Qatar 2022#FIFAWorldCup #WorldcupQatar2022 #SelecaoBrasileira pic.twitter.com/3p9P1ZZPZm
Serbia quick facts
Current FIFA world ranking: 21
World Cup titles: 0
World Cup appearances: 12
How they qualified: Qualified from UEFA via playoffs
Coach: Dragan Stojkovic
Key players: Aleksandar Mitrovic, Luka Jovic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Dusan Tadic
🇧🇷🆚🇷🇸 | Тим Србије за Бразил! 🔥🦅#FIFAWorldCup #Qatar2022#BRASRB #SRB #Orlovi pic.twitter.com/j3Q4wMWSHa
— Fudbalski savez Srbije | FA of Serbia (@FSSrbije) November 24, 2022