Brazil stamp authority over Serbia

The Selecao started their FIFA World Cup campaign the way five-time world champions ideally should -- with a 2-0 win against Serbia, thanks to a Richarlison brace in the second half of the match

In the first 45 minutes, Brazil struggled to break the back of the Serbian defence, with Vanja Milinkovic putting his best foot forward to deny the Selecao an early inroad.

The second half, however, saw a quick turnaround of things when showman Richarlison scored in the 62nd minute, scoring once again in the 73rd to leave Serbia high and dry.

Brazil XI: Alisson; Danilo, Thiago Silva (c), Marquinhos, Alex Sandro; Casemiro, Lucas Paqueta, Neymar; Vinicius Jr., Raphinha, Richarlison.

Serbia XI: Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, Milos Veljkovic, Filip Mladenovic, Strahinja Pavlovic, Nikola Milenkovic, Andrija Zivkovic, Nemanja Gudelj, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Sasa Lukic, Dusan Tadic (c), Aleksandar Mitrovic.

Portugal sneak past Ghana

Portugal on Thursday won their first match 3-2 against Ghana on Thursday.

Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring with a penalty, followed by goals from Joao Felix and Rafael Leao.

Ghana tried to fight back, scoring 2 goals in between but it was not enough as the Cristiano Ronaldo-led side secured the three points in the first match of the group stage.

Portugal was playing in red and green, while Ghana in all whites.

9:30 PM, Portugal versus Ghana: Portugal ready to let their game do the talking

Cristiano Ronaldo, now a man without a club, will hope to start his World Cup for his country on a better note than his rival claimant to greatness Lionel Messi when Portugal take on Ghana to begin Group H play on Thursday.

Messi and Argentina shockingly fell to Saudi Arabia 1-2 in their opening match on Tuesday. Ronaldo, who parted ways with Manchester United on Tuesday after sparking a furore with his attacks on the club and its coach, will hope to let his skill do the talking if Portugal are to avoid the same fate against a historically pesky World Cup opponent. This time, Ghana, at No. 61. are the lowest-ranked team in the World Cup but also the youngest.

Portugal Squad: Diogo Costa, Joao Cancelo, Danilo Pereira, Ruben Dias, Raphael Guerreiro, Ruben Neves, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Otavio, Joao Felix, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ghana Sqaud: Lawrence Ati-Zigi, Abdul-Rahman Baba, Daniel Amartey, Alexander Djiku, Mohammed Salisu, Alidu Seidu, Thomas Partey, Salis Abdul Samed, Mohammed Kudus, Andre Ayew, Inaki Williams.

Uruguay and South Korea play out a 0-0 draw

South Korea and Uruguay have cancelled each other out in a Group H clash of the ongoing FIFA World Cup at the Education City Stadium.

Two-time winners Uruguay are all set to kickstart its campaign at the grandest stage in world football as the South American giants are up against South Korea in the Group H encounter of the FIFA World Cup 2022 on Thursday.

6:30 PM, Uruguay versus South Korea: Uruguay wary of Son threat

On paper, Uruguay appear to be the favourites against South Korea when the two teams lock horns in their Group H opener at the Education City Stadium on Thursday. But Argentina’s shock defeat to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday sent a message loud and clear to the higher-ranked sides: they cannot take any opposition for granted.

Besides, the Saudis’ win over Lionel Messi and Co. should also be serving as a catalyst for the South Koreans. who will be buoyed by the availability of their ace striker Son Heung-min. Son will be able to feature in the game wearing a mask, coach Paulo Bento said as the forward returns from a surgical procedure to stabilise a fracture around his left eye.

Uruguay squad: Rochet, Caceres, Godin, Gimenez, Oliviera, Valverde, Vecino, Bentancur, Pellistri, Nunez, Suarez.

South Korea squad: Seung Gyu Kim, Jin-su Kim, Young-Gwon Kim, Min-Jae, Tae-hwan Kim, Chang-Hoon Kwon, Woo-Yeong Jeong, In-Beom Hwang, Son, Ui-Jo, Hee-Chan.

Switzerland defeat Cameroon 1-0 in a Group G match

Breel Embolo scored the lone goal of the game as Switzerland defeated Cameroon 1-0 in a Group G match between the sides at Al Janoub Stadium, Al-Wakrah on Thursday.

Switzerland is ranked 15th presently while Cameroon, once ranked 11th in the world, is now placed 43rd in the list.

Switzerland and Cameroon have never faced each other in any competition. And their first ever meeting will be at the biggest stage of all.

3:30 PM, Switzerland versus Cameroon: Swiss eye strong start

Switzerland hope to secure early points in a tough Group G when they face Cameroon in their World Cup opener on Thursday after a year of solid performances on the European stage.

The Swiss reached the Euro 2020 quarter-finals before losing a penalty shootout to Spain. They also finished ahead of Italy in their World Cup qualifying group to avoid the playoffs.

With Granit Xhaka anchoring the midfield and Xherdan Shaqiri commanding the flank, Switzerland are expected to dominate Cameroon and, at the very least, cause trouble for their other group opponents Serbia and favourites Brazil.

Switzerland squad

Goalkeepers: Gregor Kobel, Yann Sommer, Jonas Omlin, Philipp Kohn

Defenders: Manuel Akanji, Eray Comert, Nico Elvedi, Fabian Schar, Silvan Widmer, Ricardo Rodriguez, Edimilson Fernandes

Midfielders: Michel Aebischer, Xherdan Shaqiri, Renato Steffen, Granit Xhaka, Denis Zakaria, Fabian Frei, Remo Freuler, Noah Okafor, Fabian Rieder, Ardon Jashari

Forwards: Breel Embolo, Ruben Vargas, Djibril Sow, Haris Seferovic, Christian Fassnacht

Cameroon squad

Goalkeepers: Andre Onana, Devis Epassy, Simon Ngapandouetnbu

Defenders: Jean-Charles Castelletto, Enzo Ebosse, Collins Fai, Olivier Mbaizo, Nouhou Tolo, Nicolas Nkoulou, Christopher Wooh

Midfielders: Olivier Ntcham, Gael Ondoua, Martin Hongla, Pierre Kunde, Samuel Oum Gouet, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Jerome Ngom

Forwards: Nicolas Ngamaleu, Christian Bassogog, Bryan Mbeumo, Georges-Kevin Nkoudou, Jean-Pierre Nsame, Vincent Aboubakar, Karl Toko-Ekambi, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Souaibou Marou

12:30 AM, Brazil versus Serbia: Brazil bet on dream run to No. 6

It’s always good to dream, Brazil coach Tite said on Wednesday as focus of the football world shifts to the Samba squad which begins its campaign for a sixth crown on Thursday.

Tite brings a Brazil squad to Doha which has an abundance of talent and skill up front but a somewhat ragtag defence. But they hope their attacking options will bring back the World Cup they last won 20 years ago. If the 2002 campaign in Japan/Korea was about the trio of Ronaldo, Rivaldo and an emerging Ronaldinho, this time Neymar, Vinicius Junior, Raphinha, Rodrygo and Richarlison will be expected to lead the Samba dance.

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