Five-time world champions Brazil were warmly welcomed from the outset at the Lusail Iconic Stadium as the Seleção set about extending their 15-match unbeaten run in the FIFA World Cup group stages.
Brazil controlled the opening skirmishes and soon hit their stride, with Neymar firstly showing the confidence of a player with 15 club goals this season as he shot direct at goal from a corner.
Ever alert, Vanja Milinković-Savić scrambled back and tipped the PSG man’s shot over the crossbar.
With few options available in the final third, Thiago Silva then threaded a well-weighted pass through a wall of defenders and almost found Vinícius Júnior in the penalty area, but Milinković-Savić was quick off his line to claw the ball away at the vital moment.
Despite marshalling a Serbia side that kept just one clean sheet in qualifying, he remained composed throughout the first half to ensure that his men kept alive their chance of becoming only the third team in eight years to shut out Brazil during the World Cup finals.
Trying to draw inspiration from their recent seven-match winning run, Brazil cranked up the tempo after HT and Neymar curled wide from Vinícius Júnior’s cross before Alex Sandro’s dipping strike thumped the post.
The pressure soon told on a tiring Serbia though, and Richarlison reacted first to Milinković-Savić’s spilled save and tapped in his eighth goal in seven internationals.
A sense of urgency suddenly gripped Serbia, and the side that scored 11 in their last three matches suddenly sprung to life, as Sergej Milinković-Savić’s dangerous header was cleared by the Brazilian defence.
Yet, as Serbia threw caution to the wind, Brazil ruthlessly exposed the Eagles’ defence when Richarlison controlled in the air and volleyed an unstoppable overhead kick past a rooted Milinković-Savić.
Ultimately, the two goals thoroughly befitted a dominant Seleção performance, as Richarlison’s class eventually proved decisive.
For Dragan Stojković’s Serbia, the step up in quality was too much to handle, and the Eagles will need to rediscover their form quickly in order to reach their first knockout stages as an independent nation.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Richarlison (Brazil)
