This tournament will realistically be the last global event of Neymar’s prime years, and the mercurial forward has been in superb form for Paris Saint-Germain of late.
LIVE: Brazil vs Serbia: World Cup score, highlights, result from 2022 Group G match
Serbia should have designs on a strong run at the tournament, having topped a European qualifying group that also featured Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal.
Head coach Dragan Stojkovic boasts a squad blessed with creative talent and an abundance of goalscoring potential.
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Brazil vs Serbia lineups
Here are the lineups for Brazil’s opening World Cup match against Serbia.
Brazil lineup vs Serbia
(4-2-1-3 right to left): 1. Alisson (GK) — 2. Danilo, 4. Marquinhos, 3. Silva, 6. Alex Sandro — 5. Casemiro, 7. Paqueta — 10. Neymar — 11. Raphinha, 9. Richarlison, 20. Vinicius Jr
Subs: 12. Weverton, 13. Dani Alves, 14. Militao, 15. Fabinho, 16. Telles, 8. Fred, 17. Guimaraes, 18. Jesus, 19. Antony, 21. Rodrygo, 22. Ribeiro, 23. Ederson, 24. Bremer, 25. Pedro, 26. Martinelli
Injured: none Suspended: none
Vinicius Junior was handed starting berth, in keeping with reports from this week. Raphinha is set to line up on the opposite flank, with Neymar and West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta supporting Richarlison in attack.
That leaves Casemiro as the holding midfielder, with Manchester United colleague Fred among the substitutes.
Alisson got the nod over Ederson in goal. Danilo and Alex Sandro are either side of experienced duo Thiago Silva and Marquinhos.
MORE: World Cup 2022 top goal scorer: Updated rankings in the Golden Boot race
Serbia starting 11
(3-5-1-1, right to left): 23. Milinkovic-Savic (GK) — 5. Veljkovic, 4. Milenkovic, 2. Pavlovic — 14. Zivkovic, 16. Lukic, 8. Gudelj, 20. Milinkovic-Savic, 25. Mladenovic — 10. Tadic — 9. A. Mitrovic
Subs: 1. Dmitrovic, 3. Erakovic, 6. Maksimovic, 7. Radonjic, 11. Jovic, 12. Rajkovic, 13. S. Mitrovic, 15. Babic, 17. Kostic, 18. Vlahovic, 19. Racic, 21. Duricic, 22. Lazovic, 24. Ilic, 26. Grujic
Injured: none Suspended: none
Mitrovic is the big call, with the hulking striker having returned to training following an ankle injury but remaining short on match sharpness.
The Fulham talisman sat out the 5-1 win against Bahrain. Luka Jovic played at centre forward and completed the scoring, while Vlahovic came off the bench to score in the second half.
Brazil vs Serbia World Cup squads
Here are the 26 names on each team’s squad lists at the World Cup in Qatar:
