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LUSAIL, Qatar — Two goals from Richarlison propelled Brazil past a stubborn Serbia, 2-0, in the Selecao’s opening game in Group G at the 2022 World Cup.
It took Brazil manager Tite’s men a while to get going and, on a night when Neymar was subdued, it was left to Vinicius Jr. and Richarlison to carry the side to victory.
Here is ESPN’s Gabriele Marcotti with reaction and analysis from Qatar.
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Rapid reaction
1. After poor first half, Brazil spark to life
It took Brazil a while to get going against a well-organized Serbia, as evidenced by a first half that recorded the lowest xG total of the tournament thus far. And while you have to give credit to the opposition, it was also a first half when Brazil’s creative outlets were silenced.
Raphinha flickered early and then disappeared, Neymar could not find space and rowed with Nikola Milenkovic and Nemanja Gudelj, Lucas Paqueta couldn’t find the measure of his passing, and Richarlison was well-marshalled by the back three.
But football is also a game of individual battles. Neymar got battered by Serbia, eventually coming out of the match tearfully with an apparent injury but Vinicius, perhaps the most consistent attacking threat, put in the shot from wide that Vanja Milinkovic-Savic spilled into Richarlison’s path for the opener.
And, of course, the second goal was all Richarlison genius and improvisation. You don’t game plan for that sort of thing and Brazil coach Tite knows it.
Brazil’s Richarlison scores what may be the best goal of the 2022 World Cup so far, making it 2-0 over Serbia on Thursday. Alex Livesey/Danehouse/Getty Images
Against Serbia it was enough and, of course, they also hit the woodwork twice and could have scored more. But Brazil will need to raise their game relative to what we saw in the first half.
It’s nice to have a well of individual talent to which you can turn, but it’s nicer still to impose your collective will on the opposition.
2. Serbia’s smart game plan almost works
The game plan from Serbia coach Dragan Stojkovic worked for a half. He clogged the middle of the park, he got Serbia to be physical and tight without defending too deep, and he limited Brazil’s attacking threat to individual forays, which were usually quickly snuffed out.
The problem was that there was a distinct lack of pace in his three most advanced players: Dusan Tadic, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. That meant going on the counterattack was always going to be tricky — at best Serbia could hope to win possession in transition and hold up the ball, pushing forward as a team.
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