Brazil striker Richarlison scored twice, including a spectacular swinging volley, to perfectly kick off his country’s quest for a sixth World Cup title in a 2-0 win over Serbia.
The Tottenham Hotspur striker has been in fine form wearing Brazil’s golden yellow kit this year and opened the scoring with an easy tap-in before doubling the lead with his acrobatic effort.
Tite’s decision to go with four forwards – Neymar, Vinicius Jr., Raphinha and Richarlison – in his attacking line-up paid off as the South Americans dominated the game and made Serbia work hard every time. they were advancing.
Vinicius used his acceleration to good effect to consistently beat his man while Neymar, playing in a free role, often found pockets of space but a well-drilled Serbian defense kept Brazil at bay in the first half.
Serbia had sweated over the fitness of their all-time top scorer, Aleksandar Mitrovic, but coach Dragan Stojkovic named him in the starting squad.
But unlike the Brazilian attack line which threatened from all sides, the Fulham striker found himself isolated in front with little service.
The second half was one-sided as Brazil shifted gears, with Richarlison and Neymar squandering golden chances inside the box and Alex Sandro and Casemiro sending long-range efforts against the woodwork.
The breakthrough came just after the hour of brilliant work from Neymar to find Vinicius, whose opening shot was saved by Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, but Richarlison was in the right place to exploit the rebound for his first World Cup goal.
Serbia had played conservatively up until then and had no choice but to push forward, which gave Brazil more space.
Richarlison’s second goal caused the biggest roar of the night from the Brazilian contingent.
As Richarlison tried to control a cross from Vinicius, the ball popped over his head and he leapt into the air to drive home a bicycle kick and seal the win for Brazil.
Switzerland are second in the group after beating Cameroon 1-0 and Serbia are last.
The striker has now scored nine goals for Brazil this year and his goals on Thursday left the tournament favorites top of Group G.
