45th : Wah, only one minute of added time, we weren’t used to that since the start of this World Cup.
44th : Nice number from Neymar, still not bad on this first period even if it was not decisive, but Raphinha tries the hook too much, and returns the ball to the Serbs behind.
41st : Afterwards, we must be honest, Alisson absolutely did not touch a hot ball. We have hardly been able to appreciate his superb mustaki look so far.
39th: We almost announced it before the match, but the striker who made the least dream in this starting 11 seemed to us to be Richarlison. And frankly, we never see Yacine Bammou’s look-alike to his advantage in this first period. When you see the bench, it could quickly move on the Tite side.
36th : We obviously expected the Serbs to be there in the impact. But they are still surprising to fight so much eye to eye with the Brazilian stars. They have been in very little danger so far.
… But it ends with a totally crushed strike from the Barca winger. Well, that must have brought back memories to Lucas Paqueta after his years alongside Houssem Aouar (lost bullet, we admit).
31st : Yum yum the heel of Lucas Paqueta towards Raphinha. But the cross from Barcelona ends up in the gloves of Milinkovic-Savic, despite the presence of Thiago Silva at the near post.
What a wonderful opening from Thiago Silva, slammed with the inside of the foot. Vinicius is very close to having a duel to manage with Milinkovic-Savic, but the latter tears himself away to dive into the feet of the Madrid player and ward off the danger. It went very quickly on this one.
21st : Proof of the difficulties of the Seleçao to set fire in this match, Casemiro tries from very far. It’s no problem for our Serbian giant, who serenely captures the ball.
15th : Well organised, Serbia has been quietly containing the Brazilian attacks so far.
The giant Vanja Milinkovic-Savic (2.01 m) must use his fist to push back on his line a corner from Neymar who was heading for his skylight.
10th : Opening treat in line with Casemiro for Neymar. But the PSG star fails to succeed in his dribbling number, well caught in the Serbian defense.
8th : Served by his goalkeeper… and brother Vanja, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic sinks full axis but he is taken back by a not unhappy Marquinhos, because he braked him with his heel on the spot. Good little Serbian offensive even if it doesn’t work in the end.
6th : Here, already the first yellow caused by Neymar on Pavlovic. Undoubtedly not the last in this Mondial given the profile of the guy and his state of form.
5th : It starts strong in the intensity and the duels. This is an opportunity to rediscover how valuable Lucas Paqueta is in this register of fighting in the midfield, despite the stereotypes that accompany the talents of Brasil.
2nd : This Seleçao has not known defeat since the summer of 2021 and the Copa America final lost against Argentina. But hey, the Albiceleste series was even crazier until she met Hervé Renard on Tuesday…
7:59 p.m .: Let’s go for this first poster of the Seleçao!
7:57 p.m. : A priori, we will find Serbia in a 3-5-2, or even 5-3-2 depending on the face of the match, to try to slow down the Brazilian offensive armada.
7:55 p.m. : Let’s go for the Brazilian anthem!
7:50 p.m. : As a reminder, Tite can bring in whenever he wants Gabriel Jesus, Pedro, Martinelli, Antony and Rodrygo, pfiouuuuuuuu the headaches for the opposing coaches / defenders / goalkeepers in this World Cup
It was the big question on the Serbian side, because of his physical glitches: Juve striker and star of the selection Dusan Vlahovic starts on the sidelines. There is still enough to do to cause problems for the defense of the Seleçao side “Pixie” Stojkovic, between Milinkovic-Savic, Mitrovic and Tadic.
As much as the experienced defense (starting with the Marquinhos-Thiago Silva tandem) does not make you dream more than that, as much in front, it is still madness. Alongside Casemiro, the only defensive midfielder, we are entitled to Lucas Paqueta, then to the heavy artillery with Raphinha on the right, Vinicius on the left, then Neymar in support of Richarlison. Popopopo, if it’s 0-0 with all that stuff in front of us, we’d be almost ready to consider a stupid bet (but we’re still going to abstain).
7:30 p.m .: Heeeeey, here we are in place as planned for this big game of the evening: Brazil has not been particularly spoiled for its entry into this World Cup by battling Serbia.
It’s D-Day for Neymar and his band, who are finally entering this 2022 World Cup, against Serbia (8 p.m.). An affordable group G for Brazilians, who will also find Switzerland and Cameroon, as in 2014 at home. Tite’s men, big favorites in this competition, want to start strong and send a message, they who have not won the trophy for twenty years. But beware of Serbia’s attacking trio of Dusan Tadic (Ajax), Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham) and Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus Turin), which could hurt the Brazilian rear guard very badly.
See you around 7:30 p.m. to follow the pre-match together, with a kick-off scheduled for 8 p.m.