Here’s Barney Ronay’s match report
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Full-time: Serbia 0-2 Brazil
There will be no repeat of 1966 this year - at least not for Brazil, who went into this game at risk of being eliminated at the first stage for this first time since then. They quickly put paid to that prospect and sent Serbia home instead with a performance that augurs well, even if it was not perfect. It will take a fine team to beat them. Mexico will have a go in the next round.
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90+3 min: Wonderful interplay between Jesus and Neymar, but Neymar is foiled by Stojkovic.
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90+2 min: Zivkovic cuts in from the right and lets fly from the corner of the box. He strikes it hard and wild.
90 min: There will be at least three more minutes before Serbia head for the airport
Serbia substitution: Jovic on, Mitrovic off.
89 min: Fernandinho feeds Neymar again, this time without the aid of a deflection. Neymars gets off one shot that is saved and then fights for another but this engulfed by three defenders. Fernandinho has been excellent since his arrival.
88 min: Switzerland are now leading 2-1 against Costa Rica but that does not change the standings in the group.
86 min: A clipped pass from Fernandinho rebounds off Zivkovic and into the path of Neymar, who tries to lift the ball over the bar. But Stojkovic does well to bat it away.
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84 min: There will be no comeback here. Brazil are squeezing the life out of Serbia and enjoying it. They’ve been superior, no doubt: sharp, strong and creative.
82 min: A long ball from the back finds Willian running down the right. He pulls a cross back towards Neymar. it takes a nick off a defender on the way so arrives bouncing at Neymar, who lashes it into the ground from 16 yards ... and the ball bounces over the bar.
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Serbia substitution: Radonjic on, Kostic off
Brazil substitution: Renato Augusto on, Coutinho off after another influential performance.
79 min: As things stand and - let’s take a risk - as things will certainly finish, Brazil will play Mexico in the last 16 while Switzerland take on Sweden. The first of those ties could be a belter; the second more of a chore.
76 min: Brazil are just toying with their opponents now. Which means Neymar can go through his party pieces. The fight seems to have gone out of Serbia, but that doesn’t mean some smart arse isn’t going to get a boot.
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Serbia substitution: Zivkovic on, Ljajic off
72 min: Brazil are pressing for a third here. It seems that bout of pressure from Serbia only served to annoy the Brazilians. Serbia, then, did a a David Narey, as they say in Scotland.
70 min: Neymar brings the crowd to their feet, squealing, with a loping 50-yard run down the left. Then he serves Coutinho near the edge of the area. The ex-Liverpool man shimmies to create room for a shot and then lets fly. But his effort is deflected behind for a corner.
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Serbia 0-2 Brazil (Thiago Silva 68)
That’s torn it for Serbia! Just as they were threatening to get back into the game, Brazil zip forward and wins a couple of corner. Neymar curls the second one into the near post and Thiago Silva heads into the net from six yards!
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Brazil substitution: Fernandinho on, Paulinho off. That’s an attempt by Tite to tighten up central midfield, where Serbia are finding gaps as they please.
65 min: Rukavina hangs up a delightful cross from the right. Mitrovic towers above Fagner at the far post and sends a powerful downward header ... into the arms of Allison! Again, a touch more to one of the sides and a goal was the most likely outcome.
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63 min: Super from Serbia! Suddenly they’re streaming into the Brazilian box from all angles, causing 40 shades of panic! The runs that Ljajic and Milkovic-Savic are making from midfield are causing havoc. Serbia aren’t done yet!
61 min: Tadic makes a break down the left. Rukavina fires a tantalising low ball into the box. Allison makes a mess of it, parrying it to Mitrovic seven yards out, right in front of goal! Mitrovic’s diving header ... hits a defender standing two yards out! What a chance! If Mitrovic had put his header towards either corner it was an equaliser, for sure.
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59 min: Costa Rica have equalised against Switzerland but the Swiss are still going through unless Serbia find two goals here - and avoid conceding any more.
57 min: Brilliant break by Brazil! Willian feeds Coutinho with a smart header. Coutinho collects the ball near the half-way line and plays a fine pass into the path of Neymar, who’s running into the left-hand side of the box, with Tadic straining to keep pace. Neymar takes a superfluous touch before shooting - and that may have given Stojkovic the chance he needed to set up himself and make the save.
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56 min: That’s better from Ljajic! A vicious pass into the box that forces Miranda to divert it over his own bar from close range!
54 min: Milinkov-Savic wins the ball in midfield and helps it on to Ljajic, who scurries forward from half-way. Serbia have a three-on-two situation! Once he reaches the cusp of the Brazilian box, Ljajic draws a defender and aims a pass towards Tadic, who in support to his right. But Ljajic’s pass is behind the winger, forcing him to do an about-turn and allowing Brazil to regroup and clear.
53 min: William performs that exquisite quick shuffle of the feet of his, making space for a cross, which he booms low into the six-yard box. Vejkovic does well to whack it away from right in front of his goal.
52 min: Casemiro spanks a ball from the right touchline all the way over to Neymar on the left. Neymar takes it down without fuss and Brazil continue probing...
49 min: Matic booked for bringing down his Mancunian neighbour Jesus near half-way. Matic will miss the next match, if Serbia have another one in this tournament.
47 min: A lubberly foul by Miranda on Mitrovic gives Serbia a freekick half-way inside the Brazilian half. And in the time it took me to write that, the ball has been sent back up the other end and is now in the arms of Stojkoic. Fair to say Serbia did not make the most of that. “I take it back, Neymar did not make a meal of that by Neymar’s standards,” admits Matt Cast. “Using the same yardstick, Rivaldo’s reaction in 2002 was perfectly proportional (oh look, another player who learnt a lot at Barcelona).”
46 min: Here we go again, as Whitesnake almost sang.
Several - make that, dozens - of emailers have asked me to revise my view that Neymar did not make a meal of the Ljajic foul on him in the 32nd minute. But I maintain that a somersault followed by a quick lie-down is merely an hors d’oeuvre by Neymar’s standards. And there were no tears.
Half-time: Serbia 0-1 Brazil
Brazil deserve their lead, which came courtesy of a well constructed and executed goal by Paulinho. Coutinho’s pass to him was a beauty, as was one that Neymar made to Jesus for another chance a few minutes prior to the goal. Serbia, despite holding their own for periods, have yet to show that sort of quality. They’ll likely need to do so if they are to find the two goals they need to stay at the World Cup. Mitrovic has generally been well contained by Brazil’s centreback so far. Back soon!
44 min: Milkinkovic-Savic wins the ball in his own half, carries it 20 yards forward and then wins a freekick. But Serbia make nothing of it.
43 min: Tadic pulls Neymar back by the shoulder near half-way. Freekick to Brazil, once Neymar stops clutching his eye and gets back to his feet.
42 min: Another Serbian corner. Another one dealt with well by Brazil, this time Casemiro.
40 min: Ljajic curls a wicked corner in on top of Allison. Mitrovic pronks in the direction of the keeper but Allison holds his nerve, keeps his eye on the ball and punches clear.
39 min: Serbia build a good attack down the left before Kolarov bangs over a decent cross. It’s nodded behind for a corner.
36 min: Serbia need to score twice now or they are going home. Their attempt to do so will surely leave more gaps for Brazil to exploit. They’re in a proper pickle.
GOAL! Serbia 0-1 Brazil (Paulinho 35)
Coutinho spots a tremendous run from deep by Paulinho and clips the perfect pass through to him. The keeper charges out but Paulinho gets there first and pokes the bouncing ball over him and into the net!
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34 min: Tadic pulls a cross back from the left-hand byline. Mitrovic, arcing back, ties to hook a left-foot volley goalward from nine yards. He hoiks it over the bar.
32 min: Neymar beats Ljajic to a breaking ball near the left touchline and is clattered by his opponent, who gets a deserved yellow. Neymar didn’t make a meal of it. Well, not much by his standards.
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31 min: Thiago Silva boots Mitrovic in the head mid-way inside the Brazilian half. Tadic lofts the freekick into the area but it’s easily cleared.
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29 min: A super pass by Neymar from inside his own half rewards a clever run by Jesus. The man City forward dashes into the box and then puts a defender on the ground with a slinky feint. But a second defender hurls himself in front of Jesus’ shot, making a critical block.
27 min: Fagner makes a searing run forward, driving in-field from the right before trying to tip a pass through to Neymar. Serbia, though stretched, manage to clear.
24 min: After Brazil knock the ball around half-way for a bit, the zip forward and Jesus beats two players in the box, through persistence and much as skill. Then he nudges a short pass through to Neymar, who spoons a shot towards goal from a difficult angle at the corner of the six-yard box. Stojkovic makes a fine one-handed save.
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22 min: Allison punches Spajic’s corner away from the danger zone.
21 min: Fagner charges down a cross by Kostic at the expense of a corner.
19 min: Corner to Bzazil. Willian takes it short and Brazil begin popping the ball around outside the Serbia box. Neymar makes a dart into the box and Coutinho picks him out. But Kolarov intervenes before Neymar can do anything with it.
17 min: Lots of dinky probing by Serbians around the Brazilian box. Miranda eventually steps in front of Mitrovic to intercept an attempted through-ball from Ljajic. “Firmino should be starting ahead of either Jesus or Paulinho!” blasts Mike Mackenize, with whom I agree. “outinho is very important of course but Brazil really needs Firmino’s skill set and work effort to maximise their offence.”
16 min: Coutinho finds William, who darts past a couple down the right ... and shanks his cross into the stands.
14 min: Corner to Serbia after a 20-yard shot by Milinkovic-Savic is deflected wide.
12 min: Mitrovic flicks on a long kick and Serbia being building in the Brazilian half, where they’ve spent a good minute. The South Americans came flying at them early on but Serbia are starting to gain more of a foothold in this.
Brazil substitution: Filipe Luis, Marcelo off. Marcelo was plainly in no state to continue. He looked ill, maybe even disoriented as he walked off, and is being helped towards the dressing room by two staff-members.
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9 min: Marceloa has decided to stop the match: he kicked the ball out of play and demanded treatment. The ref seems puzzled. Marcelo is on his feet but his holding his head as if to indicate it’s sore: not sure whether he’s ill or is suggesting he has been hit. After talking to him the ref waves for play to continue. But Marcelo stays in front of the dugout, waiting for a substitution to be made. He evidently not well.
7 min: Tadic slips the ball through to Rukavina, who had raced forward to provide an underlap down the right. The full-back dangerous cross is cleared. But this start augurs well for fun-lovers: it’s been open, fast and frantic, with both sides going all out for the win.
5 min: Willian nudges Kolarov to the ground near half-way, giving Serbia a freekick. That duel is already shaping up to be interesting - and more even than I, for one, would have supposed.
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4 min: Neymar slices open the defence with a first-time pass through to Jesus, who fails to beat the keeper from 10 yards. But it wouldn’t have counted anyway because he was offside when the pass was played.
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2 min: Neymar’s first contribution is a cutting run through the middle. He ghosts past two players and then tees up Coutinho for a shot from the edge of the box. Coutinho opens fire ... but it’s inadvertently blocked by Jesus.
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1 min: Three, two, one .. .we have kickoff! Serbia are all in blood red, Brazil in their sunny yellow tops, sky blue shorts and, um, snowy white socks.
Apparently Mexicans have surrounded the Korean embassy in their country and are cheering “Koreans are Mexican” and kissing and hugging anyone they believe to be Korean. Now, if Serbia knock out Brazil and thus help Switzerland to progress, should we expect similar scenes outside the Serbia embassy in Bern? Is that the result the world needs?
During the Brazilian anthem the camera zooms up close enough to Neymar’s face that you could count the hairs in his nostril, if you wanted. The player merely smiles: he looks at ease with the pressure millions of others want to put on him.
A burst of applause and cheers - and irritating music - tell us that the teams have entered the arena. The Serbia anthem is first, and the loud accompaniment suggests most of the crowd are on their side.
“This might be the former bullied child in me, reflexively sticking up for people who are singled out for criticism, but I like Neymar,” pipes up Kári Tulinius. “He’s an exciting player, who can light up a match all by himself. Yeah, he’s a bit silly sometimes, but football wouldn’t be as much fun if it didn’t have players who pushed the envelope in all kinds of ways. Neymar is someone who can do that with his skills, as well as his hair. How is that a bad thing?”
“However much Neymar might sob, Brazil’s best player is Coutinho, their creator in chief,” lectures Anwesh Mishra. “The man who is supposed to be entrusted to be handling him is Matic which might just be the duel which decides this game. If Matic is successful in killing off Coutinho’s supply, then Serbia could wait for Brazil to get impatient and hit them on the counter. There is space to be found behind Brazil’s advancing full backs for sure.”
According to the betting website I’ve just consulted, Brazil are still favourites to win this World Cup. That cannot be on the basis of their performances so far. Then again, who should be favourites? The established powers seem either to be dwindling or malfunctioning - unbalanced, mismanaged or mentally kaput - but will the eventual winners still come from the usual batch? Who else has looked capable of conquering? Croatia? Uruguay? Colombia? Senegal? Belgium? England?
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“Brazil got their comeuppance in the last World Cup: no harm if they same happened again,” blares John McEnerney. “Neymar is the most overrated, arrogant Brazilian of all time and needs to be taken down a peg or ten. No doubt he’ll be crying at the end no matter the outcome!” One gets the feeling that John is cheering for Serbia.
Apparently Germany’s elimination by South Korean earlier today triggered mass mockery and celebration in Brazil today. So wouldn’t it be a shame, and in no way hilarious, if Brazil were ousted, too?
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So Brazil have stuck with the same lineup that upset Cost Rica. Three of their players are a yellow card away from suspension - if they even make the next round. They are Coutinho, Neymar and Casemiro.
Serbia meanwhile, have made three alterations to the lineup that began the defeat by Switzerland, with Ivanovic, Tosic and Milivojevic dropping out. They are replaced by Veljkovic, Milenkovic and Ljajic. Three of their starters are on yellow: Matic, Mitrovic and Milinkovic-Savic.
Teams
Serbia: Stojkovic; Rukavina, Veljkovic, Milenkovic, Kolarov; Matic, Milinkovic-Savic; Tadic, Ljajic, Kostic; Mitrovic
Subs: Spajic, Tosic, Milivojevic, Ivanovic, Zivkovic, Prijovic, Rajkovic, Rodic, Grujic, Raonjic, Jovic, Dmitrovic
Brazil: Alisson; Fagner, Miranda, Thiago Silva, Marcelo; Casemiro, Paulinho; Willian, Philippe Coutinho, Neymar; Jesus
Subs: Geromel, Flilpe Luis, Augusto, Marquinhos Cassio, Fernandinho, Fred, Firmino. Taison, Ederson, Costa, Danilo
Referee: A Faghani (Iran)
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Preamble
Hello. Welcome to Do-or-Die Day in Group E. Brazil came into this tournament confident of atoning for the ignominious elimination they suffered in the last one but here they are at risk of an even more traumatic failure than that 7-1 defeat by Germany four years ago. Because victory for Serbia would almost certainly knock out the South Americans - only an unlikely trouncing of Switzerland by Costa Rica in the group’s other match could save them. Not since 1966 have Brazil failed to get past the first stage and that was partly because opponents were allowed to tackle Pele with mallets and steel toe caps and Brazil’s goalkeeper, Manga, really was a comic. There can be no such excuses here, no matter what Neymar may claim.
As for Serbia, their challenge is to make this their most glorious day. They have never reached the World Cup’s knock out stages as an independent nation and nor have their ever beaten Brazil. There would be no sweeter way for them to recover from being sickened in the last minute by Switzerland the other day. The scene is set, the stakes are high, the players are oiled up and the ref has been plugged in .... let’s be having you!
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