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LIVE BLOG: Fifa World Cup, Day 5 - Joga Bonito at its best as Brazil entertain

Published Nov 24, 2022

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Five-time winners Brazil take on Serbia in what is everyone’s pick of the day in Thursday action at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

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FULL TIME: Brazil 2, Serbia 0

After a goalless first half, Brazil turned up the heat and played Serbia off the park in the second, which saw Everton striker Richarlison score twice. The second goal was an acrobatic effort most Brazilians would be proud of.

HALF TIME: Brazil 0, Serbia 0

Neither side could find the back of the net during Thursday’s World Cup clash between Brazil and Serbia.

NEXT UP: Brazil vs Serbia

Neymar leads an attack-minded Brazil side in their opening Group G game at the World Cup against Serbia at Doha's Lusail Stadium on Thursday.

The Paris Saint-Germain superstar, the world's most expensive player, comes into his third World Cup needing just two more goals to equal Pele's all-time record tally of 77 for the Selecao.

Brazil (4-2-1-3): Alisson Becker; Danilo, Thiago Silva (capt), Marquinhos, Alex Sandro; Lucas Paqueta, Casemiro; Neymar; Raphinha, Richarlison, Vinicius Junior

Serbia (3-4-2-1): Vanja Milinkovic-Savic; Nikola Milenkovic, Milos Veljkovic, Strahinja Pavlovic; Andrija Zivkovic, Sasa Lukic, Nemanja Gudelj, Filip Mladenovic; Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Dusan Tadic (capt); Aleksandar Mitrovic

FULL TIME: Portugal 3, Ghana 2

Bruno Fernandes was the difference maker for Portugal in their thrilling World Cup clash against Ghana as five goals were scored in the second half. But, the biggest talking point on the night was Cristiano Ronaldo making history by becoming the first player in history to score in five World Cup tournaments.

HALF TIME: Portugal 0, Ghana 0

Neither Portugal nor Ghana could find the back of the net in the first half of their World Cup clash at Stadium 974 in Doha on Thursday.

UP NEXT: Portugal v Ghana, 6pm

Let’s hope load-shedding stays away as Portugal take on Ghana in what is expected to be an exciting clash. The big news of the day is Cristiano Ronaldo will start as he takes to the field for the very time after his divorce with Manchester United. For Ghana, they’ll be looking to become the first African side to score a goal and win a game at this World Cup... they should, however, expect no goodwill from South African fans.

Portugal (4-5-1): Diogo Costa; Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, Danilo Pereira, Raphael Guerreiro; Otavio, Ruben Neves, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Joao Felix; Cristiano Ronaldo (capt)

Ghana (5-3-2): Lawrence Ati Zigi; Alidu Seidu, Alexander Djiku, Daniel Amartey, Mohammed Salisu, Baba Rahman; Salis Abdul Samed, Thomas Partey, Mohammed Kudus; Andrew Ayew (capt), Inaki Williams

FULL TIME: Uruguay 0, South Korea 0

Federico Valverde came closest to breaking the deadlock for Uruguay, but they had to settle for a point from their World Cup opener against South Korea on Thursday.

HALF TIME: Uruguay 0, South Korea 0

It’s been fairly even between Uruguay and South Korea as the teams go into the break all square during their clash at the World Cup.

TEAMS FOR THE MATCH:

Uruguay (4-1-2-3)

Sergio Rochet; Martin Caceres, Diego Godin (capt), Jose Maria Gimenez, Mathias Olivera; Matias Vecino; Federico Valverde, Rodrigo Bentancur; Facundo Pellistri, Luis Suarez, Darwin Nunez

South Korea (4-2-3-1)

Kim Seung-gyu; Kim Jin-su, Kim Young-gwon, Kim Min-jae, Kim Moon-hwan; Jung Woo-young, Hwang In-beom; Na Sang-ho, Lee Jae-sung, Son Heung-min (capt); Hwang Ui-jo

UP NEXT: Uruguay v South Korea

FULL TIME: SWITZERLAND 1 CAMEROON 0

Cameroon-born Breel Embolo was the hero for Switzerland as he scored the winner for his country, with a well-taken strike three minutes after the players returned after the break. It leaves Switzerland with all three points, while Cameroon have two group games left, one against powerhouse Brazil and Serbia.

HALF TIME: SWITZERLAND 0 CAMEROON 0

Cameroon and Switzerland were locked at 0-0 at the interval of this tightly-contested Group G fixture. Silvan Widmer produced a strong performance for Switzerland, making some timely tackles for his side. The best chance of the half fell to Switzerland’s Manuel Akanji, but he was unable to find the back of the net.

TEAMS FOR THE MATCH:

Switzerland (4-3-3)

Switzerland line up as expected, with Arsenal's Granit Xhaka captaining the side.

Yann Sommer; Silvan Widmer, Nico Elvedi, Manuel Akanji, Ricardo Rodriguez; Remo Freuler, Granit Xhaka (capt), Djibril Sow; Xherdan Shaqiri, Ruben Vargas, Breel Embolo

Coach: Murat Yakin

Cameroon (4-3-3)

Bayern Munich forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting captains Cameroon in their opening Group G World Cup match against Switzerland at the Al Janoub Stadium in Doha on Thursday.

Choupo-Moting, who has scored 11 times for the German champions this season, is preferred to Cameroon's usual captain Vincent Aboubakar, who is a substitute.

He leads the attack alongside Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo and Karl Toko Ekambi of French club Lyon.

Andre Onana; Nicolas Nkoulou, Collins Fai, Jean-Charles Castelletto, Nouhou Tolo; Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Samuel Oum Gouet, Martin Hongla; Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (capt), Bryan Mbeumo, Karl Toko Ekambi

12pm: Switzerland vs Cameroon

Switzerland is the one team which enters major tournaments with the ingredients needed for a deep run but for some reason or another never delivers.

Granit Xhaka will be the engine of the current Swiss team with the Arsenal midfielder currently being in the form of his life.

Rigobert Song’s Cameroon side are not at their best, having failed to pick up a win in four games, a run which includes a humiliating loss to Asian minnows Uzbekistan in September.

Veteran striker Vincent Aboubakar is likely to play a key role for Song’s charges and it will be hoped that in form Bayern Munich utility player Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting can add quality to the attack.

Players to watch

Switzerland: Granit Xhaka (midfielder), Fabian Schar (centre-back), Xherdan Shaqiri (winger)

Cameroon: Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (forward), Andre Onana (goalkeeper), Vincent Aboubakar (striker)

Head To Head

This will be the first time that these two teams meet.

3pm: Uruguay vs Korea Republic

Uruguay are one of the teams that can potentially do very well in Qatar with world class players such as Federico Valverde, Darwin Nunez and Rodrigo Bentencur in the team.

For the first time since the 2010 World Cup, the South Americans are also not led by Oscar Tabarez with Diego Alonso now in charge.

Uruguay have a good balance of youth and experience in the squad. They are captained by 36-year-old Diego Godin with Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani still in the side. Suarez and Cavani will likely play impact roles for the team.

South Korea were dealt a major blow ahead of the World Cup with Asia’s best player Son Heung-Min having picked up an injury. Even if Son does play against Uruguay, he will not be fully fit.

Hopes are not high for the Asians but they will hope to show that they are not just in Qatar to make up the numbers.

Players to watch

Uruguay: Darwin Nunez (striker), Federico Valverde (central midfielder), Rodrigo Bentancur (midfielder)

Korea Republic: Son Heung-Min (forward), Kim-Min Jae (centre-back), Hwang Hee-Chan (forward)

Head To Head

The teams have met eight times in the last 40 years. South Korea have won one time, Uruguay six with the other game ending in a draw.

The teams met in the Round of 16 during the 2010 World Cup and Uruguay won 2-1.

6pm: Portugal vs Ghana

All eyes will be on Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal who is likely playing in the World Cup for the last time. The 37-year-old’s future is a mystery after he recently parted ways controversially with Manchester United. A strong showing for his country in Qatar can help him get offers from big clubs after the tournament.

Boasting the likes of Ruben Neves, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes, Portugal have plenty of quality and will not be overly dependent on Ronaldo. However, they struggle to deliver in World Cups and also struggled to qualify, requiring a playoff win over North Macedonia in order to reach Qatar.

Ghana are still in a rebuilding phase but have a young core which can serve them well into the future. The Africans will be looking to be competitive in Qatar.

Players to watch

Portugal: Cristiano Ronaldo (forward), Ruben Dias (defender), Bruno Fernandes (attacking midfielder)

Ghana: Tariq Lamptey (right wing-back), Inaki Williams (forward), Daniel Amartey (defensive midfielder)

Head To Head

The teams met once in the 2014 World Cup group stage. Portugal won 2-1.

9pm: Brazil vs Serbia

With Argentina having lost to Saudi Arabia, Brazil are now arguably the favourites to win the World Cup. They will face a test of their strengths against Serbia who boast classy forward options including Aleksandar Mitrovic, Luka Jovic and Dusan Vlahovic.

As is the case with Cristiano Ronaldo, the World Cup in Qatar also likely represents Neymar’s last chance to win the showpiece with the PSG man himself having admitted that he may not be a part of the Brazil national team in four years time.

Players to watch

Brazil: Neymar (forward), Alisson (goalkeeper), Thiago Silva (centre-back)

Serbia: Aleksandar Mitrovic (striker), Dusan Tadic (attacking midfielder), Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (midfielder)

Head To Head

The teams met twice before, during the 2018 World Cup group stage and in a friendly. Brazil won both games.

So today is Thanksgiving in a America, a holiday that many from the US celebrate but that won’t be the case for the their team at the World Cup.

The American’s will have to forsake their turkey and trimmings as they prepare for their World Cup encounter against England on Friday.

Here’s a recap of what went down yesterday ...

Morocco weren’t able to kick start Africa’s World Cup. The Atlas Lions went up against Croatia, who were also finalist in the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Neither team were able to break the deadlock but Luca Modric and Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech shone but not bright enough.

Japan pulled off the second shock at he World Cup when they beat Germany 2-1. It was the Die mannschaft who took the lead but Japan sealed a famous victory.

Germany were also the first team to make a statement regarding Fifa’s refusal for teams to wear the rainbow-themed armbands.

Hansi Flick’s side took their team photo ahead of the game with their hands over their mouths to show they were not happy with the soccer body’s stance.

You have to commend them to trying to make a stand in some way!

Spain were in seven(th) heaven after they thrashed Costa Rica. The 2010 World Cup champions put seven goals past the South American outfit. Feran Torres bagged a braced and Alvaro Morata was also amongst the scorers with his stoppage time goal.

Belgium got a hard-fought win over Canada after Michy Batshuayi scored in the first half and Thibaut Courtois saved a penalty against an energetic Canada who were back in the finals for first time in 36 years.

Here’s Wednesday’s Live Blog if you missed any of the days action or just want to recap what unfolded.

IOL Sport

Related Topics:

PSGCristiano RonaldoNeymarFIFA World CupInternational soccerSoccer