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Brazil win thanks to a magical goal, but worry about Neymar

World Cup

Brazil win thanks to a magical goal, but worry about Neymar

For a long time, the record world champion fought against the bravely fighting Serbs. In the second half, Brazil turned up the tension. With the deserved opening victory of the World Cup, however, all is not smooth sailing.

To install Lusail. After this magical goal by Richarlison, even the greatest ball artists of the Brazilians were amazed.

Speed ​​dribbler Vinicius Júnior gave the Tottenham Hotspur striker a smile and shook his head in disbelief, then the record-breaking world champions performed a short dance in front of their fans. With a 2-0 (0-0) win against Serbia, favorite Brazil successfully started the hunt for a sixth world title.

But the joy of the victory was mixed with concern for superstar Neymar. The 30-year-old allegedly injured his ankle and should have been substituted in the 79th minute and, according to his team-mates, immediately treated in the dressing room. “I hope it’s nothing serious,” defender Alex Sandro said in the interview area of ​​Lusail Stadium after the game. Neymar limped out of the arena, but coach Tite gave the go-ahead: “We are confident that he can continue playing in this World Cup. Will continue this World Cup!

In their first match of the tournament in Qatar, the Seleção prevailed thanks in part to a gala performance from Richarlison. First the Tottenham Hotspur striker dusted off from close range (62′), then put the ball in front of him for a side kick (73′) and completed a volley. After this fantastic goal, the crowd of 88,103 at Lusail Stadium went wild.



Casemiro is enthusiastic about Richarlison

“It’s crazy, it’s what you dream of as a kid, to score a goal like that in a place like that,” said the double goalscorer. “In the second half we managed to turn the tables and decide the match. I was afraid I wouldn’t come here at all,” said the attacker, who had been injured for a long time. “Richarlison is a brilliant striker, a great player. But he alone isn’t important, everyone is important,” said Casemiro.

The training has already shown what kind of offensive power the Brazilians have. Neymar, Vinicius Júnior, Raphinha, Richarlison and Lucas Paquetá – five outstanding players with a clear offensive orientation were in the starting XI. But if anything went on, it wasn’t initially through their individual class, but through the interface. Otherwise the compact defense of the Serbs could hardly be overcome.

Serbia offensive without accents

Two ingenious vertical passes by Casemiro and captain Thiago Silva were nearly defended by the Europeans in the first round. Like the attempt by Neymar (13th), who wanted to kick on goal for a corner. So he was initially left with repeated attempts to break through the Serbian stronghold. Raphinha (35′) had the best chance to do it, after a good combination had already passed, but goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic missed.

Serbia has limited itself to what Serbia is particularly good at: being unpleasant. The Seleção dominated the match, but didn’t get anything for free. Without the injured ex-Frankfurt player Filip Kostic, the Serbs lacked the strength to carry on. Contrary to what was announced, they hardly took place offensively. But in the match against the ball, coach Dragan Stojkovic’s team put everything on the line. They pulled and pulled and rode and fought: if the Brazilians were to find a gap, they had to adapt very well. Or hope for mistakes on the part of the Serbs.

Not even a minute had gone by in the second half when exactly that happened. Nemanja Gudelj lost the ball just before his own penalty area, which landed again on Raphinha, but once again the FC Barcelona forward was unable to get past the goalkeeper. But Brazil has come close. A powerful long-range shot by left-back Alex Sandro (60′) went inside the post. But then Milinkovic-Savic blocked an attempt from Vinicius Júnior right on Richarlison’s feet and the Tottenham Hotspur forward converted from close range.

Neymar little to see

On the other hand, there wasn’t much to see from Neymar. However, the Paris Saint-Germain superstar has struggled. But sometimes he got bogged down in dribbling, sometimes he couldn’t accept the ball. The 30-year-old also decided several times too late for the last pass. But it didn’t matter tonight. Because others have taken control of the Brazilians. Above all the very strong Casemiro, who directed the midfield of the Seleção. And of course Richarlison.

When Vinicius Júnior dribbled down the left wing again, he found the 25-year-old forward in the centre. He lifted the ball himself, turned to the side, and then sent it into the net with a lateral shot.

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