FIFA World Cup LIVE Rating: Striker Richarlison celebrates after scoring the opening objective of Brazil’s FIFA World Cup Group G match towards Serbia. AP
Preview: 5-time champions Brazil start their journey within the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Thursday once they tackle Serbia on the Lusail Stadium.
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The Tite-coached aspect are essentially the most profitable staff within the historical past of the event, having received the World Cup a complete of 5 occasions (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002) in addition to ending runners-up twice (1950 and 1998).
Brazil, nonetheless, have hit a roadblock of types since their fifth world triumph in Japan/South Korea in 2002, getting knocked out within the quarter-finals on three events (2006, 2010 and 2018). They reached the semi-finals of the 2014 version that they hosted earlier than struggling a humiliating 7-1 loss by the hands of eventual champions Germany.
The Brazilian staff nonetheless, enters the 2022 version because the tearaway favourites given the sheer vary of expertise of their ranks in addition to the red-hot type of a few of their key gamers resembling star ahead Neymar.
“His preparation this time has been completely different. In 2014 he acquired injured simply as he was enjoying so properly, and in 2018 he got here into the event another way as a result of he had a critical harm so hadn’t performed a lot.
“This time is completely different and he has not been injured. Neymar is lots higher ready,” mentioned veteran midfielder and Brazil captain Thiago Silva on the eve of their opening sport.
The comparatively unfancied Serbia, which performed as Yugoslavia till the 1998 version and as Serbia and Montenegro in 2006, didn’t progress past the group stage in every of its final three appearances within the international event.
The staff nonetheless, enter the event because the darkish horses, having completed on prime of their qualifying group forward of former European champions Portugal and coach Dragan Stojkovic insisted his aspect weren’t fazed by the stature of Brazil, the aspect that had crushed then 2-0 in Russia 4 years in the past.
“We’re afraid of no one on the planet, not even Brazil. We don’t have to be afraid,” Stojkovic mentioned forward of the match.
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