LUSAIL, Qatar — Two goals from Richarlison to push Brazil stubborn past Serbia, 2-0inside SelecaoThe opening match of Group G at the 2022 World Cup.
Brazil coach Tite’s students took a while to get started and on a night when Neymar was subdued, it was assigned to Vinicius Jr. and Richarlison to carry the team to victory.
Here’s ESPN’s Gabriele Marcotti with reaction and analysis from Qatar.
JUMP TO: Player Rating | Best/worst performer | Highlights and remarkable moments | Quotes after the game | main statistics | upcoming match schedule
rapid response
1. After a poor first half, Brazil burst into life
it lost Brazil a time to fight a good organization Serbia, as evidenced by the tournament’s lowest xG total to date in the first half. And while you have to credit the opposition, it’s also the first half when Brazil’s creative sources are silenced.
raphinha flickers early and then disappears, Neymar can’t find space and paddle with Nikola Milenkovic and Nemanja Gudelj, Lucas Paqueta couldn’t find his way out, and Richarlison was well arranged by the three people behind.
But football is also a game of individual battles. vinixiusprobably the most stable attacking threat, making a long shot that makes Vanja Milinkovic-Savic spilled into the path of Richarlison for the opener.
And, of course, the second goal was both the improvisation and genius of Richarlison. You don’t plan to play for that kind of thing and Brazil coach Tite knows it.
Against Serbia that was enough and of course, they also hit the woodwork twice and could have scored more goals. But Brazil will need to step up their game from what we saw in the first half.
It’s great to have a variety of individual talents that you can use, but it’s better to impose your collective will on the opposition.
2. Serbia’s clever game plan almost works
Serbian coach Dragan Stojkovic’s game plan worked in the first half. He blocks the midfield, he makes Serbia strong and tight without defending too deep, and he limits Brazil’s attacking threat with individual breakthroughs, which are often the norm. quickly extinguished.
The problem is that there is a distinct lack of pace in his three most senior players: Dusan Tadic, Alexander Mitrovic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. That means counter-attacking will always be difficult – at best, Serbia can hope to gain possession in the interim and hold the ball, pushing forward as a team.
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But on a night when none of the three are clicking, defending that becomes all too easy for Brazil — and, with hindsight benefit, you wonder if the right person is right. , mobile Dusan Vlahovic could be a better option.
The only appearance of the big man in the past month was 45 minutes in a friendly match with Bahrain last week. Maybe Stojjkovic is helping him get into the league, knowing he can be more of a difference-maker than the likes of Switzerland and Cameron.
3. Brazil’s great support sets its mark on Qatar
Brazil may well be the most famous national team in this part of the word. Lusail’s rippling bowl is a sea of yellow, and the subway ride up from central Doha is filled with canary yellow.
Many Brazilians have made the trip, but many are simply locals who have accepted Selecaowhether because of Neymar’s popularity or the 5 World Cups they have won or the fact that they are once again the favorites.
Of course, the fact that Brazil is favored by neutral teams is nothing new. No country is so closely identified with the World Cup as Brazil. Even so, perhaps because of some tension between the European associations and the Qatar organizers, Brazil as a team is more popular than any other.
Either way, it looks like Brazil will enjoy a home field advantage throughout this World Cup. Perhaps more so than hosts Qatar, based on how empty the Al Bayt stadium was when they were two goals behind in the opener.
Player Rating
Brazil: Alisson 6, Danilo 7, Marquinjhos 7, Thiago Silva 7, Alex Sandro 8, Casemiro 7, Lucas Paqueta 5, Raphinha 5, Neymar 6, Vinicius 8, Richarlison 7
Prep: Fred 6, Martinelli 6, Antony 6, Rodrygo 6, Gabriel Jesus 6
Serbia: V. Miilinkovic-Savic 7, Milenovic 6, Velkjovic 6, Pavlovic 7, Zivkovic 5, S. Milinkovic-Savic 5, Gudelj 7, Lukic 7, Mladenovic 7, Tadic 5, Mitrovic 5
Prep: Radonjic 6, Ilic 6, Lazovic 6, Vlahovic 6, Maksimovic 6
Best and worst performers
BEST: Vinicius, Brazil
Yes, Richarlison has scored two goals, one of which highlights the reel content. But for consistency throughout the game, I’d pick Vinicius, whose flanking sprints were often destabilizing even in the first half when most of Brazil’s attack was quiet.
BEST: Aleksandar Mitrovic, Serbia
He should have held the ball and allowed Serbia to push forward, but Marquinhos and Thiago Silva stopped him, nullifying both his physicality and his ability to find space. He may not be the right fit, but if this is his level, it makes more sense to start with Vlahovic, who at least presents a threat when running behind defenders.
Highlights and remarkable moments
The first half was a somewhat sleepy carnival: not only was it goalless, but it also had the lowest xG, or expected goal count, of any World Cup halftime to date, meaning that Good scorers are few and far between.
But Brazil came to life in the second half, finding a moment of danger in the first minute after the break, and then a goal from Richarlison in the 62nd minute.
However, the only target everyone would talk about was Richarlison’s second goal: a side acrobatic volley. Richarlison brought the ball in himself – perhaps from a bad and erroneous header – and he finished it beautifully.
ABOVE. SAY AGAIN.
Can’t stop watching this CRAZY goal from Richarlison pic.twitter.com/xYmwln4Ajk
– FOX Football (@FOXSoccer) November 24, 2022
After the game: What players and coaches say
Richarlison on his World Cup debut: “My childhood dream came true. We knew it would be difficult to get past them. I’m used to facing defensive teams like this in England. I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity that I had and I did.”
Key stats (provided by ESPN Stats & Information)
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The first half ended with Brazil creating xG, or expected goals, of 0.21 while Serbia created just 0.04. That’s the lowest xG in the first half so far at this World Cup.
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Richarlison is the fourth player to score his first two goals at a World Cup for Brazil, after Careca (1990), Neymar (2014) and Philippe Coutinho (2018).
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Neymar made 9 mistakes out of 12 that the Brazilian team made. Neymar’s nine fouls are as many as all the other players on both teams combined – six total fouls by Serbia.
Next
Brazil: Group G continues on Monday, November 28, when Brazil will face Switzerland at 11 a.m. ET. Brazil then faces Cameroon on Friday, December 2 at 2pm ET.
Serbia: Group G continues on Monday, November 28, when Serbia will face Cameroon at 5 a.m. ET. Then, Serbia faces Switzerland on Friday, December 2 at 2 p.m. ET.
