Brazil and Serbia meet in their opening Group G match for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar on Thursday. HITC Football previews the tie as Tite tries to take the Selecao to their sixth title.
No nation has enjoyed success on the FIFA stage like Brazil has with their five titles to date. The South Americans are also the only country to have appeared at all of the 22 editions of the quadrennial tournament. But Brazil have not lifted the golden trophy aloft since 2002.
Brazil have also not reached the World Cup final since winning the title in Japan and South Korea 20 years ago. Their best finish over the following four editions ahead of featuring at Qatar 2022 was on home soil in 2014. Around three quarter-finals, they finished in fourth.
You have to go back to Italia 90 for the last time that Brazil did not make the quarter-finals at a World Cup. The Selecao have also contested the knockout rounds at each edition since 1966. Serbia are yet to get out of the group since declaring independence from Yugoslavia.
HITC Football previews Brazil vs Serbia at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar
Brazil now arrive in Qatar as the top-ranked nation in FIFA’s table ahead of the 2022 World Cup. They start their tournament as the home team against Serbia on November 24 with a 19:00 GMT kick-off. FIFA has allocated the Group G encounter to the Lusail Iconic Stadium.
The stadium hosts six group stage games and four knockout stage fixtures. Brazil return to the Lusail Iconic Stadium to face Cameroon on December 2. They or Serbia may also play a last 16 match against the Group H winners at the ground if they finish Group G in second.
Team News: Brazil picked up two early concerns while Serbian stars arrived injured
Brazil picked up two early injury concerns before arriving in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup. Real Madrid forward Rodrygo caught Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes on his right foot in a pre-tournament training session. Sevilla’s Alex Telles also needed treatment.
But Chronicle Live reports Guimaraes avoided an injury from Rodrygo’s late tackle and has since returned to training. Telles was also able to resume work after shaking off a tackle by Neymar during the Selecao’s pre-tournament session at Juventus’ training ground in Turin.
Serbia also flew to Qatar with a few injury concerns for two of their key players. The Daily Mail reported Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic has been suffering from a foot injury since the September break. Dusan Vlahovic of Juventus has also been suffering from a groin injury.
Mitrovic sat out Fulham’s last two Premier League fixtures before the World Cup due to his injury. Vlahovic, meanwhile, played his first minutes since October 25 during Serbia’s pre-tournament friendly with Bahrain on November 18. He sat out five of Juventus’ matches.
What is the head-to-head record between the Selecao and Eagles?
Brazil and Serbia will meet for only the third time when they play at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The Selecao won each of their previous two meetings with a 1-0 win in 2014 during a friendly and a 2-0 win at the 2018 World Cup. They met during Group E four years ago.
Serbia and Brazil met in their final Group E fixtures for Russia 2018 at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium. The Selecao’s 2-0 triumph saw the South Americans finish top of the table ahead of Switzerland. Serbia finished in third place after a win over Costa Rica before losing two.
Paulinho broke the deadlock for Brazil in their 2018 World Cup meeting with Serbia in the 36th minute. Thiago Silva later doubled the margin on 68 minutes to seal the three points.
Who is the form side ahead of meeting at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar?
Tite will oversee his 77th game in charge of Brazil when the Selecao and Serbia meet at the World Cup. He has stood at the helm since June 2016 and taken 58 wins and 13 draws thus far. The South Americans are additionally unbeaten in their last 15 games with 12 victories.
Meanwhile, Dragan Stojkovic will stand in the opposing dugout for his 22nd tie in charge of Serbia on Thursday. He took over the Eagles in March 2021 and has overseen 14 wins and four draws to date. They are also unbeaten over their last six games with five wins taken.
Brazil’s last nine games: D-D-W-W-W-W-W-W-W
Serbia’s last nine games: W-L-L-W-W-D-W-W-W
How to watch Brazil vs Serbia live in the UK on TV and online
Brazil and Serbia’s opening match for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is live on BBC One in the UK. The free-to-air public broadcast television network will begin its programming at 18:30 GMT with a 30-minute build-up show. Coverage of the game will commence at 19:00 GMT.
The BBC will broadcast the Group G match on BBC One (Freeview channel 01, Sky 101 and Virgin Media 101). The match is also available online via BBC iPlayer, while Radio 5 Live will have commentary of the tie from 19:00 GMT. Radio 5 Live’s build-up starts at 18:00 GMT.
Brazil World Cup facts ahead of Qatar 2022
Current FIFA world ranking: #1
World Cup titles: 5 (best finish of first in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002)
World Cup appearance: 22
How they qualified: Finished top of the CONMBEBOL table on 45 points from 17 games
Serbia World Cup facts ahead of Qatar 2022
Current FIFA world ranking: #21
World Cup titles: 0 (best finish of the group stage in 2010, 2018)
World Cup appearance: 3 (as Serbia, plus once previously as Serbia and Montenegro)
How they qualified: Finished top of the UEFA Group A table on 20 points from eight games
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