DOHA, Qatar
Favourites Brazil begin their bid to win a sixth World Cup on Thursday when they take on Serbia, while Cristiano Ronaldo will hope to put his acrimonious departure from Manchester United behind him as Portugal enter the fray against Ghana.
Brazil will be wary of a
dangerous Serbian side when the teams meet at Lusail Stadium, especially after
seeing Argentina suffer a shock defeat against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday at the
same venue and Germany lose to Japan on Wednesday.
The Brazilians have arrived in
Qatar hoping for a repeat of what happened at the last World Cup held in Asia
two decades ago, when they won their fifth title in Japan.
Tite's side can rely on a
Neymar who has been in ominous form for Paris Saint-Germain, but the world's
most expensive player is surrounded by other outstanding attackers ready to
share the burden, such as Real Madrid duo Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo.
"In my opinion these
players will help Neymar because they can divide up the responsibility and
create space for him," said veteran Brazil skipper Thiago Silva.
"The atmosphere in the
squad is super healthy. The mixture of young players and more experienced ones
creates a great connection," he added.
However, Serbia appear a more
dangerous proposition than four years ago, when they also faced Brazil in the
group stage but lost 2-0 and went home in the first round.
"We are afraid of nobody
in the world, not even Brazil," insisted Serbia coach Dragan Stojkovic,
who was hopeful that prolific Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic would be fit
for the Group G opener.
Switzerland and Cameroon kick
off Thursday's action in the same section at Al Janoub Stadium at 1:00 PM (1000
GMT).
Swiss skipper Granit Xhaka
indicated his side would not copy Germany's mouth-covering protest against
Fifa's stance on rainbow-themed armbands.
The Swiss were one of the seven
European teams whose captains were to wear the armband in support of LGBTQ
people at the tournament in Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal.
Germany made the gesture as
they lined up for their team photo before their shock 2-1 defeat to Japan after
they abandoned plans for skipper Manuel Neuer to wear the armband following
threats of on-field disciplinary action by Fifa.
"I don't think we need to
do anything as the Swiss team. We need to respect the rules and concentrate on
our football, that's all I intend to do," Xhaka said on Wednesday.
Ronaldo's preparation for what
is surely his last World Cup has been overshadowed by his bitter departure from
Old Trafford.
It was announced late on
Tuesday that the 37-year-old would leave United with "immediate
effect" in the wake of an outspoken interview with a British broadcaster
in which he said he felt "betrayed" by the club and had no respect
for manager Erik ten Hag.
His club form this season has
been poor but he is still hoping for a final shot at World Cup glory and
Portugal will be expected to start with a victory at Stadium 974 by Doha's
waterfront against a Ghana side who sit 61st in the Fifa rankings.
Portugal coach Fernando Santos
claimed that Ronaldo's split from United had not been discussed by the players.
"The players are
absolutely focused, with a great spirit, convinced about what they have to do,
what their objectives are and realistic about the challenges they are
facing," Santos said.
"Winning a competition of
this magnitude is difficult." - AFP
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