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Serbia national football team
World Cup | Group Stage
Jun 27, 2018 at 7pm UK
 
Brazil national football team

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Live Commentary: Serbia 0-2 Brazil - as it happened

Relive Sports Mole's coverage of the 2018 World Cup in Russia as Brazil take top spot in Group E courtesy of a 2-0 win over Serbia in Moscow.
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Serbia took on Brazil in Group E of the 2018 World Cup in Russia with Tite's Selecao requiring at least a point to confirm progression into the knockouts.

Brazil dominated going forward in the first half and took a lead into the break courtesy of Paulinho, who chipped Serbia stopper Vladimir Stojkovic to make it 1-0.

Tite's men took control of proceedings in the second period when Thiago Silva headed in from a corner, cementing Brazil's position at the top of the group to setup a last-16 clash with Mexico.

Relive all of the action with our minute-by-minute updates below.


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Good evening all and thanks for joining us as we bring you live coverage of Brazil's Group E clash with Serbia at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Brazil go into the game in Moscow knowing that a draw would be enough to see them qualify. Tite's charges are likely to win the group should they claim three points against Serbia. As for Mladen Krstajic's charges, Serbia need a victory to be sure of progress. A draw could do it but it would be dependent on extremely favourable results elsewhere tonight.

BRAZIL STARTING XI: Alisson; Fagner, T. Silva, Miranda, Marcelo; Casemiro, Paulinho; Neymar, Coutinho, Willian; Jesus

BRAZIL SUBSTITUTES: Geromel, F. Luis, Augusto, Marquinhos, Cassio, Fernandinho, Fred, Firmino, Taison, Ederson

SERBIA STARTING XI: Stojkovic; Rukavina, Kolarov, Veljkovic, Milenkovic; Matic, Milinkovic-Savic; Tadic, Ljajic, Kostic; Mitrovic

SERBIA SUBSTITUTES: Tosic, Milivojevic, Spajic, Ivanovic, Zivkovic, Prijovic, Rajkovic, Grujic, Radonjic, Jovic, Dmitrovic

As you would expect, it's a full-strength team for Brazil and Tite has made no changes to his side. Gabriel Jesus leads the line in a 4-2-3-1 with further attacking support coming from Neymar, Willian and Philippe Coutinho.

Both Paulinho and Casemiro have been charged with holding the midfield and the pair will operate as two pivots in the centre. Fagner continues in place of the injured Danilo at the right-back, while Marcelo is over on the left. Thiago Silva and Miranda start at the heart of defence, leaving Allison Becker between the sticks.

For Serbia, boss Krstajic continues with a 4-2-3-1 that sees Aleksandar Mitrovic leading the line alone. Creative support is to come from a trio of Dusan Tadic, Adem Ljajic and Filip Kostic. Nemanja Matic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic will be hoping to control the middle of the park a little deeper in midfield.

Elsewhere, Serbia have given a start to promising centre-back Milos Veljkovic alongside fellow youngster Nikola Milenkovic. The experienced Antonio Rukavina features at right-back, while Aleksandar Kolarov is on the left. Surprisingly the country's most-capped player in Branislav Ivanovic finds himself starting on the bench.

Brazil still feel like a side gearing up for the tournament in Russia having opened with a frustrating draw against Switzlerand. Tite's charges then produced a late burst to secure three points with a last-ditch 2-0 win over Costa Rica, but it has been far from plain sailing for the Selecao.

The victory over the Central Americans still leaves Brazil topping the group with four points, putting them ahead of Switzlerand on goal difference. Heading into this clash with Serbia, the Selecao could still be eliminated, finish second or progress as winners. It's certainly all to play for!

There are a number of permutations that could develop come the end of the evening. A draw for Brazil here would see them through into the last 16. Should Brazil win and second-place Switzerland also win against Costa Rica, both sides would be on seven points, although Brazil currently hold a one-goal advantage in goal difference charts.

Should both teams end up landing on the same points and the same goal difference, the decision would go down to a disciplinary record to see who takes top spot in the group. So far Brazil have three yellows to their name, while the Swiss have four.

Much of the expectation built around Brazil coming into the tournament was based on a standout record in the run-up to the showpiece. Coming into Russia 2018, Brazil lost just one match in 21, scoring 47 goals and conceding only five in the process.

Tite will want his charges to get moving a little quicker in their final group game. It has taken a while for Brazil to click into gear in the opening two games, especially in the final third. In fact, Brazil managed just one shot on target in the first half against both Switzerland and Costa Rica.

Since that defeat, Brazil are now unbeaten in 13 matches, having won nine and drawn four. The Selecao have conceded just three goals across those games.

Coming up against European opposition in World Cups, however, Brazil have only notched one victory in their previous seven matches. That sole victory came against Croatia during a testing tournament on home soil four years ago.

Coutinho has proved the catalyst recently having opened the scoring late against Costa Rica in the last game. The Barcelona playmaker has now scored in each of his past three appearances for his country.

Neymar still appears to be working his way back to match sharpness and has arguably been slightly underwhelming. The Selecao will want the Paris Saint-Germain forward firing for the latter rounds considering his form in the run-up to the tournament. Neymar has been directly involved in 18 goals in his last 17 appearances for Brazil.

The mercurial frontman is now Brazil's third all-time leading scorer. The 26-year-old has scored 56 goals in 87 matches for Brazil. Only Pele with 77 and Ronaldo with 62 have scored more for their country.

Here's a quick glimpse of how Brazil picked up those crucial three point against Costa Rica right at the death last time out in Group E:


Serbia are still in with a shout of reaching the knockout stages tonight. Krstajic's men beat Costa Rica 1-0 thanks to Aleksandar Kolarov's stunning free kick in their opener, but they fell short last time out in a 2-1 loss to Switzerland.

The defeat threw up a few major flash-points off the pitch for the Serbians. Both Serbian Football Association president Slavisa Kokeza and coach Krstajic were each fined for comments they made after the loss to the Swiss.

In fact, Krstajic told the Serbian press that German referee Felix Brych should be tried for war crimes at The Hague for deciding against awarding his men a penalty in the second period of the defeat.

Looking at routes for progression, a win against Brazil would send Serbia straight through into the last 16. A point could also be useful but that would mean Switzerland would need to lose to Costa Rica by more than one goal.

Surely Newcastle United forward Mitrovic will be crucial in any positive outcome for Serbia this evening. The frontman has netted 18 goals in 26 games for club and country in this calendar year alone.

As many as six players in this Serbia squad are just a single booking away from suspension in the next round. Krstajic has to throw caution to the wind, though, as only a victory will probably do if they want to stay in Russia for another week at least.

Much of the country's footballing history is indebted to the records of Yugoslavia. Should Serbia win tonight, it would see the nation qualify from their World Cup group for the first time as an independent nation.

Competing as Serbia, the nation has lost the six World Cup matches in which they have conceded, but have also won the two in which they kept clean sheets.

Inheriting Yugoslavia's records, Serbia and Brazil have met four times at the World Cup. The sides have each won one game and have drawn the other two.

Victory for Yugoslavia came in the first meeting between the teams in a World Cup, when they met at the 1930 edition of the tournament. Yugoslavia won 2-1 in Uruguay. Competing solely as Serbia, the nation has met Brazil just once before. Serbia were beaten 1-0 in a friendly in June 2014 in the run-up to the World Cup in Brazil.

PREDICTION! Brazil have not fully clicked into top gear as yet but the deeper the tournament goes the more likely that is to happen. Germany's exit will likely fuel Brazil's desire for progress with a giant having already been eliminated earlier this afternoon. There is more than enough quality on the pitch tonight to get at least a point against Serbia. The Europeans have a wonderful midfield, but they may just be outdone at the back here. I'm backing the Selecao to win 2-1 this evening.

Fagner will be thrilled at getting a chance to feature at this World Cup and he is given another opportunity at the back this evening given Danilo's injury situation. The right-back has been talking to FIFA TV in the run-up to the game:


Serbia have a huge task in order to get three points out of this encounter. Coach Krstajic has hinted that he has been able to find a few weaknesses in the Selecao, though:

"From day one when we saw the draw and the group many people thought that Brazil was the favourite to win the group and the competition. We are in a situation where we need to win against Brazil and we will focus and do whatever we can to win, nothing is impossible in life. We respect their status as favourites to win but they have some weaknesses and we will try to exploit them."


The players are now making their way out onto the pitch as we await the start of the respective national anthems, kickoff is close!

Here is a quick recap of the starting XIs before we get moving in Moscow...

SERBIA STARTING XI: Stojkovic; Rukavina, Milenkovic, Veljkovic, Kolarov; Matic, Milinkovic-Savic; Tadic, Ljajic, Kostic; Mitrovic

BRAZIL STARTING XI: Alisson; Fagner, T. Silva, Miranda, Marcelo; Casemiro, Paulinho; Neymar, Coutinho, Willian; Jesus


KICKOFF! Brazil get things moving in the Spartak Stadium. Both sides have a chance of qualifying with a victory here. Brazil require just a point for a minimum of second spot in the group.

Silky stuff early on from Neymar on the left flank as he pulls off some quick feet to nutmeg Rukavina, but the Serbians are quick on the press and soon retrieve the ball.

SHOT! Brazil look sharp already as the ball is pinched off Kolarov and the yellow shirts counter. The ball is moved in for Coutinho in the middle, but his snapshot thumps into Jesus who is already in an offside position.

CHANCE! Another quick break sees Coutinho slip a blinding ball straight through the heart of the Serbia defence, where Jesus breaks onto it before shooting straight at Stojkovic. Neymar should bury the rebound although his blushes are soon spared with the linesman raising his flag for offside.

Tadic offers a first threat for Serbia down the left as he evades the sliding challenging of Marcelo, before making a mockery of Miranda. Silva is across quickly, though, cutting the winger dead in his tracks.

This doesn't look good for Marcelo who doesn't seem himself down at left-back. Tite looks to be readying Luis already on the bench.

SUBSTITUTION: So the change is made as Luis comes on for Marcelo. It doesn't look like an obvious injury but he looks dazed as he takes his place on the bench. The doctors go straight over to him.

After that initial interruption we are back underway as Serbia float a long back into the box, which causes Alisson to rush off his line and punch away with Mitrovic lurking. Marcelo has now gone down the tunnel.

After the initial blitz from Brazil, Serbia have responded with a neat spell of possession camped inside the Selecao half. Kostic winds up from range to meet a dropping ball and his volley is deflected away for a corner.

The resulting ball is whipped into the middle, although Brazil eventually clear after a few lacklustre attempts. A bright opening for Serbia despite those early threats from the men in yellow.

Brazil try to catch Serbia cold on the counter as the play is switched out to Willian on the right. The Chelsea wide-man swings a ball into the box, but he overhits the cross and it evades just about everyone.

CLOSE! Coutinho drops his shoulder to lose a man before turning a chipped ball over the top of the defence. Paulinho gets in behind unmarked, although Stojkovic is quick off his line to claim the loose ball.

Brazil are just starting to warm to proceedings. Another quick break on the right sees the ball eventually slipped into space for Paulinho. The Barca man cross for Jesus, leaving Milenkovic to make a vital clearance.

Serbia have enjoyed themselves on the flanks at times. Kostic pulls wide on the left only to be followed by an industrious Fagner who clears for a corner. Brazil defend it with relative ease.

SAVE! Best chance of the game and it falls for Brazil. Jesus drives towards goal on the left and is able to shift the ball into the path of Neymar. The PSG man reacts quickly by opening up his body and shaping an effort towards goal. It doesn't have much conviction behind it, leaving Stojkovic to dive to his left and parry the ball away.

Coutinho tries to up the ante with a quick-fire ball out wide for Neymar. It would've stretched the pitch magnificently, but Neymar cannot quite reach it and Serbia get the throw-in. Spaces are just starting to appear in the Serbian half now.

CHANCE! Jesus gallops into space after being set away on the break. The striker fools his marker but coming back on the inside, but the striker's shot is denied by a brilliantly outstretched leg from defender Milenkovic.

Brazil are taking control of proceedings at the moment and it's yellow wave after yellow wave. Mitrovic does brilliantly to win a free kick off Silva in order to earn his side a bit of a breather inside the Brazilian half.

YELLOW CARD! Neymar goes racing away on the counter down the left and he gets clattered to the deck by a sliding challenge from Ljajic, who goes into the book for his troubles. The striker might just have been through on goal if not.

SHOT! Great stuff from Tadic who spins on the left side of the box under the watch of Silva to cross into the middle for Mitrovic. The frontman has his back to goal and cannot test Alisson with a tame overhead kick. Nice idea, poor execution.

GOAL! SERBIA 0-1 BRAZIL (PAULINHO)

Simply brilliant from the Brazilians to take the lead. Coutinho holds the ball in the middle and spots a gap emerging in the Serbian defence. Paulinho is the man to break through the middle and collect the pinpoint pass, before chipping a finish over the head of an onrushing Stojkovic to open the scoring.

Serbian heads cannot drop. Krstajic's charges were working to a positive game plan up until the goal and have played well in this opening half.

Kostic uses some commendable energy to get down the left but he is tracked by the energy of a retreating Willian, who blocks for a corner. Brazil clear their defensive lines untroubled, though.

Brazil are pressing for the second as we head towards the break. Matic and Milinkovic-Savic have both retreated deep and are providing a fairly efficient screen for the defence.

The Selecao invite Serbia on and aim to spring the counter through Neymar, who seeks to send Willian on his way down the right. Full-back Kolarov reads play well, however, as he comes across to make the interception.

We are going to have two minutes of additional time at the Spartak Stadium.

SHOT! Neymar goes for something special from range, but his curling effort has just a little too much height on it as it goes whistling over the crossbar.

HALF TIME: SERBIA 0-1 BRAZIL

Brazil take a lead into the break after an efficient showing in the first half. Serbia have offered a threat down the flanks, but the Selecao have had the right measure of quality when it has mattered most.

Switzerland are currently beating Costa Rica elsewhere in Group E, but with Brazil winning in Moscow too Tite's men remain on course to finish top of the standings if things remain as they are.

Tite will want more of the same as Brazil will want to exploit the spaces when Serbia are forced to open up in the second period. Krstajic's men are in need of at least two goals now and will need to play more expansively should they stand a chance of pulling off something special to reach the knockouts.

The players are now back out on the pitch and we will be back underway shortly!

SECOND HALF! Serbia get us moving here and they need two goals minimum to force themselves into knockout contention. Brazil need just a draw here and already lead with 45 minutes to play.

Neymar is on the deck again and is remonstrating with the referee. It seems like he wants to officiate proceedings himself at times. Serbia retain the ball as they eye up the Brazilian defence in front of them...

YELLOW CARD! Matic goes into the book as he tries to win the ball of Jesus, but clips the feet of the striker rather late. The referee goes straight to his pocket.

Ljajic drifts off the flank and that opens up space for Kolarov to gallop into down the wing, but the return pass into the full-back is overhit and the move breaks down.

CLOSE! Typical Willian as the winger stands his man up before moving past him to drive a cross into the middle. It's a testing ball, but Milenkovic does well to intervene at the near post.

A fine Serbian counter allows Tadic to move free down the right side of the box and he attempts to square into the middle for Ljajic, but the cut-back evades the playmaker and Miranda can scamper the ball clear.

Serbia are gaining confidence minute by minute now. Milinkovic-Savic sizes the goal up from range, although Casemiro is quick on the press and puts in a timely block on the fringes of the box.

CHANCE! Another special counter from the men in yellow sees Coutinho thread a wonderful ball into space for the run of Neymar, who breaks free of the last defender and moves in on goal. He's forced a little wide and the eventual shot is a tame one, leaving Stojkovic to save with his feet.

UPDATE! Costa Rica have pulled one back against Switzerland to score their first goal of the tournament. It's now 1-1 elsewhere in that game in Group E.

Coutinho has the ball on the edge of the box and the playmaker lifts a chip under pressure over the defence for Jesus, but the linesman raises his flag for offside.

CHANCE! It should be level in Moscow... Rukavina sends in a dangerous ball that Alisson can only punch straight into the path of Mitrovic. The striker should head into the net, but his quick reactions can only see him send his effort straight into the outstretched leg of Silva.

CLOSE! Brazil are wobbling slightly. Milinkovic-Savic shows standout skill to turn the ball back into the path of Tadic inside the area, who sends a cross first time into the middle where Mitrovic is lurking. It's good defending from both Silva and Miranda, though, as the pair squeeze the ball away from danger.

CLOSE! Serbia need to take one of these and fast. It's another standout ball in from the right courtesy of Rukavina. The ball isolates Mitrovic against a struggling Fagner, only for the striker to head straight into the arms of Alisson after making a fool of his marker at the back post.

GOAL! SERBIA 0-2 BRAZIL (THIAGO SILVA)

That's it then, Serbia are punished for their profligacy. Neymar whips a corner towards the near post, where Silva breaks free of the challenge of Matic to thump a header beyond a helpless Stojkovic. A fantastic headed finish from the centre-back.

SHOT! Brazil smell blood as they hare away on another country straight after the game resumes. Neymar feeds Coutinho through the centre, who sees his shot from the edge of the area deflected away for a corner.

SAVE! Serbia fail to clear their lines and the ball drops kindly for Luis on the edge of the box, leaving the full-back to force a decent save with a driven effort at Stojkovic.

It's surely going to be damage limitation from Serbia from here on in, surely the chance of qualification has passed them. Brazil are looking rampant as their confidence in this tournament grows.

More neat footwork just inside the box sees Neymar and Jesus get in each other's way, but Serbia still cannot get the ball back. 'Olé, Olé, Olé' rings out around the ground as the Selecao keep hold of possession.

The yellows are seemingly trying to give the ball to Neymar as much as possible now as the forward's pace is starting to cause some real issues out on the left. Serbia will be lucky to keep it to 2-0 to be honest.

SUBSTITUTION: This man has been fantastic tonight and Coutinho is given a standing ovation as he is swapped out for Renato Augusto in the middle of the pitch.

SHOT! Almost three for Brazil as a cross falls kindly into the feet of Neymar on the edge of the box, leaving the forward to produce a standout volley into the ground that bounces just inches over the bar.

The Brazilians are playing a possessional game now as they aim to wear down this Serbian side in the final 10 minutes. It's hard to play down how brilliant Coutinho was tonight, he's going to be pivotal going forward in the tournament.

CHANCE! Neymar is almost in as a lucky ball pops up off the defender and into his path clear of the final man. The striker tries to flick the ball around Stojkovic, who manages to keep his frame outstretch to swat away the danger.

Serbia are still pouring men forward when possible, but Brazil are giving nothing away in defence in the closing stages here.

We are going to have three minutes of additional time here as Brazil look certain to top the group and seal progress.

FULL TIME: SERBIA 0-2 BRAZIL

Brazil now move into the last 16 where they will face Mexico in Samara next Monday. This result never really seemed beyond the Selecao who have qualified with relative ease. Serbia just did not have the ambition going forward to really get much out of this contest. That's going to be all from me tonight, thanks for joining us!

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Brazil's Neymar during the game against Switzerland on June 17, 2018
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