Five times FIFA World Cup winners Brazil is beginning their journey in the 2022 FIFA World Cup against a formidable Serbia side in a Group G encounter at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar on Thursday. (12:30 am IST)
One of the top favourites, Brazil topped the CONMEBOL qualification standings on their way to the World Cup, have not been that successful in biggest tournament since 2002 – when beating Germany 2-0 in the final.
Overview:
Following 2002, Brazil could only reach the semi-final once and have suffered three quarter-final exits. Interestingly, they got defeated four years ago they got defeated by Belgium.
On the contrary, Serbia in its all three World Cup appearances have been eliminated in the group stage only. This year, they qualified for the World Cup unbeaten in their eight qualifiers.
Head to head:
Brazil – also know as Selecao – is the only them that had been successful to take part in in every single World Cup since its original edition in 1930. This is their 22nd appearance.
The team has remained unbeaten in their past 15 group matches, winning 12, and have topped their pool in each edition since 1982.
In their two previous encounters with Serbia, Brazil have defeated the opponent, which includes their group-stage fixture at the last World Cup when prevailing 2-0.
Eagles — nick name for Serbia — not only impressed in UEFA qualifying, they also topped their group after winning six and drawing two of their eight matches. But, they have also lost seven of their nine World Cup matches in total.
Key Players:
Brazil: Brazil would reply mostly on its star player Neymar to keep the score rolling. It is Neymar’s third and possibly final World Cup. He also needs three goals to surpass Pele as Brazil’s all-time leading goalscorer.
The in-form Paris Saint-Germain forward since his World Cup debut on home soil in 2014, has been responsible for the Selecao’s 19 goals in the competition.
Serbia: For the Eagles, prolific striker Aleksandar Mitrovic will be the key player. He has scored eight goals in eight matches on the road to Qatar. He has been in awesome form for the Fulham at club level this campaign and scored nine goals in 12 Premier League outings to sit fourth in the Golden Boot race.
Lineup:
Brazil: Alisson, Danilo, Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, Alex Sandro, Casemiro, Lucas Paqueta, Raphinha, Neymar, Vincius Jr, Richarlison
Serbia: Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, Strahinja Pavlovic, Nikola Milenkovic, Milos Velijkovic, Andrija Živković, Sergej Milinković-Savić, Sasa Lukic, Nemanja Gudelj, Filip Mladenović, Dusan Tadic, Aleksander Mitrovic
Date, Time & Venue:
The Brazil vs Serbia match will be played on November 25 at 12:30 AM (November 26, IST).
Live-streaming details:
The Brazil vs Serbia match will be broadcast live on the Sports18 and Sports18 HD TV channels in India and Jio Cinema’s app and website will both offer free live streaming of the event.
Prediction:
Even after losing seven of their nine World Cup games, the Eagles (Serbia) has a reputation of being a tough side to beat.
On the other side, the Selecao (Brazil) is all set to break the shackles after its consecutive exits in three quarter-final.
Our Prediction: Brazil 3-1 Serbia
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