World Cup favourites Brazil will look to begin their journey in Qatar with a game against Serbia.
Venue: Lusail Iconic Stadium (Lusail)
Key Statistics
Brazil is the only team to have participated in every single World Cup since its original edition in 1930.
They are unbeaten in their last 15 group-stage games (W12, D3).
Tite is the first manager to lead Brazil at back-to-back World Cups since Telê Santana in 1982 and 1986.
Brazil have won their last eight games and are unbeaten in their last 15 games (W12, D3).
Serbia conceded in each of their eight qualification games.
But they also went unbeaten in their qualification games (W6, D2).
They boast two clean sheets in their last three World Cup appearances (W2, L7).
Serbia are unbeaten in six games (W5, D1).
Head to head
Brazil have won the previous two meetings between both sides.
Latest performances in all competitions
Brazil: W-W-W-W-W
Serbia: W-W-W-D-W
Brazil
FIFA World Cup’s most successful team Brazil will look to begin their 2022 campaign with a big win when they play Serbia on Thursday.
The South American side are one of the pre-tournament favourites to win this trophy and arrive in Qatar in good shape, having not lost any of their last 15 games (W12, D3). They are also the number one nation in FIFA rankings and have won their last seven games heading into this game.
With a star-studded line-up boasting some of Europe’s premier entertainers, the Seleção are certainly expected to end their 20 years wait for a World Cup crown.
They will head into this game seeking to extend a 15-match unbeaten World Cup group stage run (W12, D3). Having beaten Serbia the first and only time both teams met, they’ll fancy their chances of another win here.
Possible Brazil starting line-up
Alisson, Danilo, Marquinhos, Éder Militão, Alex Telles, Fred, Casemiro, Raphinha, Neymar Jr, Vinícius Júnior, Richarlison.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Serbia
Serbia will feel they have a chance to put down a marker in the World Cup when they face Brazil.
The Serbians may be ranked 25th in FIFA rankings but are certainly no pushovers.
Dragan Stojković’s men come into this game unbeaten in their last six games (W5, D1) while losing just two of their last 16 games. They came through their World Cup Qualification group unscathed (W6, D2) and will be looking to do the same in this group which also features Cameroon and Switzerland.
However, an unbeaten run in the qualifiers doesn’t always mean a smooth group stage. They also had a similarly impressive qualifying record for the 2018 World Cup but went on to be eliminated in the group stage – a group they ironically shared with Brazil.
That 2018 elimination came despite winning their group opener (1-0 vs Costa Rica). But with more attacking talent in Serbia’s line-up than ever before, boss Stojković may be quietly confident he can oversee Serbia’s first World Cup group stage progression as an independent nation.
That attacking talent may be called upon here, too, as Serbia conceded in each of their eight qualification games and boasted just two clean sheets across their last three World Cup appearances (W2, L7).
Possible Serbia starting line-up
Vanja Milinković-Savić, Milos Veljkovic, Stefan Mitrovic, Strahinja Pavlovic, Andrija Zivkovic, Sasa Lukic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Filip Kostic, Dusan Tadic, Dusan Vlahovic, Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Odds
| Brazil to win | Draw | Serbia to win | |
| Odds | 1.44 | 4.75 | 7.50 |
| Probability (%) | 67 | 20 | 13 |
Prediction
Brazil 2-0 Serbia
Live Stream
For details, FIFA Qatar World Cup 2022 – TV Broadcast / Live Stream
