For the second World Cup in a row, Brazil face Serbia in the group stage. Four years ago, the five-time world champions won this fixture 2-0, and there have been 11 victories and just two defeats for them overall in 20 previous head-to-head meetings.
Neymar is having a spectacular campaign for PSG and he is expected to shine in Qatar as well. Bookmaker William Hill is offering enhanced odds at 5.50 for him to score, Brazil to win and there being over three goals in the game Thursday.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: November 23rd, 7:30 A.M. (EST)
With 20 games played, Neymar has been able to register 15 goals and 12 assists for PSG this season. He has been completely dominating Ligue 1, and some might say that the level of competition isn’t very high there, but the 30-year-old superstar has also registered five goal involvement in five Champions League appearances.
His World Cup numbers aren’t shabby either. Neymar made his debut on the biggest stage of world football in 2014 and has gone on to record six goals and three assists in 10 games. He has suggested that the 2022 edition will be his final World Cup and he has a special initiative to go out with a bang, with Pele’s record of 77 goals for Brazil right in front of his nose – Neymar enters Thursday’s action with 75 goals.
Serbia will be bringing some big guns as well, with the team being blessed with a lot of attacking talent. Only one of Dusan Vlahovic, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Luka Jovic will likely start Thursday, and then there’s also Dusan Tadic and Filip Kostic. The latter two are among the most creative players in European football and Serbia could go on to have a long run in the competition if the team doesn’t concede too many goals.
However, Dragan Stojkovic’s men aren’t expected to trouble the Brazilians too much. The Selecao have shown superb results with Tite at the helm and they rarely get beaten. In fact, Brazil have suffered just five losses in 76 games under Tite.
During his early days, Tite was criticized for being too negative with a team full of superstars and Brazil’s play indeed was unattractive, but he’s found a great balance in the side in recent years and it’s going to be very difficult to stop them from making a run to the final in Qatar. Although, as Saudi Arabia proved against Argentina, everything is possible if you have a smart game plan and a bit of luck. Serbia are going to need both on Thursday.
