Brazil headed into the tournament as one of the hot favourites and the whole world was watching as they beat Serbia 2-0 in their tournament opener. They now top Group H and are in pole position to advance to the knockout stages. They also put themselves as firm favourites to top the group as Serbia is probably their toughest test in the group. Serbia put up a good fight and showed good resistance which made it difficult for Brazil to break them down in the early stages of the game.

Richarlison the main man

While many of us expected the likes of Neymar Jnr and Vinicius Jnr to light up the tournament with Brazilian magic however it was Richarlison who did exactly that by firing an acrobatic strike past the keeper. Richarlison was also responsible for Brazil breaking the deadlock as he fired in from close range just after the hour mark.

This performance will give Richarlison a huge boost in confidence and this will cement his starting place in the side as there is a lot of competition when it comes to attacking players in this Brazilian squad. Brazil thoroughly deserved their victory as they largely dominated proceedings with 59% possession. They also created 22 opportunities and had 8 attempts on goal. They also deserve praise for remaining patient as Serbia were resilient and defensively solid in the early stages.

This squad also possesses great depth with the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Antony coming on in the second half. This result means Switzerland’s 3 points proved to be crucial as they are currently second in the group, with Cameroon third and Serbia fourth.

Serbia will need to look for maximum points in their remaining games in order to progress to the knockout stages and some elements of that performance should give them confidence.