The attacking talent Brazil have at their disposal is mindblowing. And they displayed that in full against Serbia at the noisy and boisterous Lusail Stadium on Thursday night.

The 2-0 win, thanks to Richarlison’s double, had the fans buzzing. And when the happy faces, so different from Saturday’s mood when Argentina played Saudi Arabia at the same stadium, walked in droves to the nearest metro station after the match, they were dreaming of something special, dreaming of their long-awaited sixth World Cup triumph.

In the first half, Brazil had to grind as Serbia kept the famed frontline in check, but after the change of ends once they switched gears, Serbia just collapsed.

Brazil recorded 24 attempts at goal and could have scored two more. And add to that Alex Sandro’s shot, which hit the post. Neymar, till he was replaced by Antony with a swollen right ankle, as usual looked at ease behind the front three of Vinicius Junior, Richarlison and Raphinha.

This Brazil are no longer Neymar-centric, as we saw the trio tormenting the Serbian defence in the second half. Then Tite has Rodrgyo, Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus — all of whom came on as substitutes on Thursday. “They were exceptionally good. It’s Brazil after all,” Serbia coach Dragan Stojkovic said.

Vinicius, the Real Madrid star and scorer of the winner against Liverpool in the Champions League final last season, was in the thick of action, playing a part in both the goals Richarlison scored. His close-range shot was blocked by Serbia goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, who till that moment had kept the potent strikeforce at bay, and Richarlison was at the right spot to slam in. That was two minutes after the hour mark.

The 25-year-old’s second was perfect for the big stage. In the 73rd minute, Vinicius raced down the left flank and with the outside of his right boot, sent in a low cross for Richarlison. It took a minor deflection. The Tottenham player adapted himself quickly, leapt from the ground and in a turn reached the ball. A boom followed.

“I have scored goals like these before for Fluminense and Everton. But this is special. My best goal so far,” Richarlison, whose video of practising such shots at training was widely shared on social media after the match, revealed.

Tite had a huge role to play in Richarlison’s inclusion in the Cup squad. A few weeks before the World Cup, he was down in the dumps. Playing for Tottenham, he injured his calf muscle during an EPL match against Everton. He was crying inconsolably as he walked off because the last time he had an injury like that, he was out for two months. The dream to play his first World Cup looked over, but Tite did not lose faith. Richarlison started to regain fitness and Antonio Conte, the Spurs coach, gave him some much-needed game time.

Tite included the ‘No. 9’ — usually the main strike in a team — in Brazil’s World Cup squad. And he did not let Tite down on Thursday. “As our professor Tite has said, I am smelling goals!” Richarlison said.

Neymar blow

Doha: Brazil duo Neymar and Danilo will miss their country’s remaining two World Cup group games and face a fight to be fit for the knockout stage after sustaining injuries in Thursday’s 2-0 win over Serbia, a source close to the team revealed on Friday. Full-back Danilo too is injured.

Brazil top Group G and next face Switzerland and Cameroon. The team’s doctor, however, claimed that they would miss the Swiss game, the source said: “Neymar and Danilo went through an MRI on Friday afternoon and we found ligament damage in the ankle of both of them,” Rodrigo Lasmar told reporters. “They will miss the next game for sure and we will be cautious as they will undergo treatment.”

Reuters