For five-time world champions Brazil, the 2022 World Cup starts with the pool match against Serbia. The Divine Canaries last got to hold up the World Cup in 2002, while Serbia will be there at the World Cup for the third time as an independent country. The South Americans look more likely to win the world title than in past World Cups. Will they shoot out of the starting blocks or will Dušan Tadić and consorts put a stop to that? Find out in our preview of Brazil – Serbia, in which we share the odds with the bookmakers. We also venture a prediction and betting tip for this World Cup match.
Brazil World Cup 2022 – Latest Team News and Statistics
In the qualification phase for the 2022 World Cup, Brazil was supreme. After 17 matches on South American soil, the Seleçao’s tally stood at 14 wins and three draws. In total, Brazil only conceded five goals. In between, it did lose the Copa América final last summer. Arch-rival Argentina took the cup, thanks to a goal by Ángel di Maria (1-0).
Brazil’s World Cup squad will make many an opponent dizzy. Particularly in attacking terms, the choice is huge for national coach Tite. Neymar, Gabriel Jesus, Richarlison, Vinícius Jr., Antony: they will have to provide the goals in Qatar.
In late September, The Divine Canaries filled up some confidence ahead of the 2022 World Cup. They scored two big victories in friendly matches, over Ghana (3-0) and Tunisia (5-1). Brazil travels to Qatar with only one goal: to become world champions. At the last four global finals, it reached the last four only once.
Serbia World Cup 2022 – Latest Team News and Statistics
Serbia qualified for the 2022 World Cup in spectacular fashion. On the last matchday of the qualification series, it faced Portugal. Both countries had 17 points at the time and the Eastern Europeans needed to win to avoid the playoffs. They succeeded in the final minutes of the match, through a goal by Aleksandar Mitrović (1-2).
Serbia has been an independent republic since June 2006. That summer, it still played at the World Cup in Germany as Serbia and Montenegro. There it faced the Netherlands, among others, and went home scoreless. Since then, that happened twice more in the group stage, in 2010 and 2018. At both World Cups, Serbia won just one game.
Meanwhile, quite a few Serbs play in Europe’s top leagues. Think, for instance, of Dušan Vlahović, Nemanja Gudelj and Sergej Milinković-Savić. In a pool with Switzerland and Cameroon, this looks like the World Cup for Serbia to finally reach the knockout stage. In the Nations League, at least, it already achieved success this year, forcing promotion to the A category at the expense of Norway, among others.
Brazil – Serbia Previous encounters
Coincidentally, Brazil and Serbia also met at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. In the last pool match, it was all or nothing for the Europeans, but it came to nothing. The South Americans crowned themselves pool winners thanks to goals from Paulinho and Thiago Silva, leaving Switzerland to seize spot two. In 2014, Brazil and Serbia played each other for the first time. The Seleçao won the friendly 1-0 in preparation for the World Cup at home. Striker Fred became the matchwinner.
Brazil – Serbia, World Cup 2022: Betting Tip & Odds
Bookmakers point to Brazil as favourites for this World Cup match. Understandable, as it impressed during World Cup qualification and in recent practice matches. Still, we see chances for Serbia, which has quite a few attacking qualities. Dragan Stojković and his men know Brazil’s World Cup obsession and know that their opponent is attacking-minded. We predict Serbia will start the 2022 World Cup with at least one goal. Brazil’s qualities are equally unquestioned, as brings us to the ‘Both teams score’ bet. At bookmaker NetBet, you almost double your bet here. Indeed, our tip yields a quote of 10/1.
- Tip: Both teams score
- Quote: 10/1 at bookmaker NetBet
- Risk assessment: medium
- Recommended stake: 5/10