The Selecao are the only nation in World Cup history to have qualified for every tournament since the first edition back in 1930, while Serbia, are gearing up to participate in their fourth finals.
Five-time world champions Brazil will begin their 2022 World Cup campaign with a Group G fixture against Serbia at Lusail Stadium on Thursday night. The two nations had faced each other in the group stage four years ago with the South American outfit securing a 2-0 win. Brazil earned a spot in the finals courtesy of finishing on top of the CONMEBOL qualifying group, while the European outfit secured top spot in Group A of the UEFA qualifiers, ahead of Portugal. Selecao Canarinho are the only nation in World Cup history to have qualified for every tournament since the first edition back in 1930. Serbia, on the other hand, are gearing up to participate in their fourth finals.
Trabalho e alegria! 💪🤩
Primeiro dia de treino no Qatar! ✅😁
Vamos, Brasil! 🇧🇷💛
📷: Lucas Figueiredo / CBF pic.twitter.com/RlbjFU1vhp
— CBF Futebol (@CBF_Futebol) November 20, 2022
Brazil, as usual, had an impressive qualifying campaign, remaining unbeaten in 17 games to collect 45 points, six more than second-placed Argentina. The Selecao had reached the quarterfinals of the tournament, four years ago in Russia, where they lost to Belgium. Tite’s side struggled to cope with the superior physicality of the Red Devils in the last edition. Therefore, this time around, the Brazilian tactician has included more physical players who are capable of winning the fifty-fifty battles, more often or not. Meanwhile Brazil are heading into the match on the back of a seven-game winning streak and their previous outing against Tunisia in a friendly, two months ago, ended in a dominant 5-1 victory.
Serbia, on the other hand, won six of their eight World Cup qualifying games including a 2-1 win over Portugal in the final group-match. The 25th ranked side in the world, then secured a promotion to League A of the UEFA Nations League earlier this year, courtesy of securing top spot in League B Group 4, with four wins from six matches. Meanwhile Dragan Stojkovic’s side have won five of their last six games across all competitions. Their previous defeat came against Norway (0-1) in June. With Switzerland and Cameroon being the other two teams in the group, Serbia would be optimistic about their chances of going through to the knockout stages.
🦾 Репрезентација Србије је одрадила последњи тренинг пред сутрашњи меч против Бразила. #BRASRB 🇧🇷🆚🇷🇸#FIFAWorldCup #Qatar2022 pic.twitter.com/vVBeflWIRi
— Fudbalski savez Srbije | FA of Serbia (@FSSrbije) November 23, 2022
Tite has an abundance of attacking talent at his disposal and it could be a headache to select the beat possible playing eleven. The 61-year-old might opt for a 4-2-3-1 formation with Casemiro and Fred sitting in front of the back-four. Neymar, Vinicius and Raphinha might operate behind the central striker Richarlison. Meanwhile Lucas Paqueta is a viable candidate, who could be brought into the midfield to make the team a bit more balanced. As for Serbia, they play direct football, with a 3-4-3 formation. In the absence of Aleksandar Mitrovic, Jovic is expected to partner Dusan Vlahovic up front, with Tadic operating behind the strikers in a free role. Lazio-man Milinkovic-Savic could pull the strings in the midfield, with Kostic and Zivkovic occupying the flanks.
Brazil probable starting lineup: Alisson, Danilo, Thiago, Marquinhos, Sandro, Casemiro, Fred, Raphinha, Neymar, Vinicius, Richarlison
Serbia probable starting lineup: V. Milinkovic,-Savic, S. Mitrovic, Pavlovic, Zivkovic, Gudelj, S. Milinkovic-Savic, Kostic, Tadic, Vlahovic, Jovic
Brazil
Opponents | Score |
Tunisia | 1-5 (W) |
Ghana | 3-0 (W) |
Japan | 0-1 (W) |
South Korea | 1-5 (W) |
Bolivia | 0-4 (W) |
Serbia
Opponents | Score |
Bahrain | 1-5 (W) |
Norway | 0-2 (W) |
Sweden | 4-1 (W) |
Slovenia | 2-2 (D) |
Sweden | 0-1 (W) |
The FIFA World Cup match between Brazil and Serbia will take place at Lusail Stadium on Friday at 12:30 am IST.
Brazil vs Serbia | Key details |
Date | November 24 |
Venue | Lusail Stadium |
Kickoff time Brazil | 4:00 pm |
Kickoff time in Serbia | 8:00 pm |
The FIFA World Cup in Qatar can be seen on Sports18 – 1 SD & HD – in India. Sports 18 will be telecasting the games on the regular and HD Channels. Besides, Viacom18 Sports announced that JioCinema will live-stream all the World Cup games. Besides, the match between Brazil and Serbia can be seen on NOW NET e Claro, Canais Globo, SporTV network and Globo network in Brazil; and the RTS 1, Arena Sport 1P and HRT 2 in Serbia.