Striker Richarlison scored twice as tournament favourites Brazil beat Serbia 2-0 in their World Cup opener at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar on Thursday.
However, the win was soured by an ankle injury to captain Neymar Junior.
The record five-time winners had toiled at times in the first half but improved after the break at the Lusail Stadium and were rewarded when Tottenham Hotspur striker Richarlison followed in to score the opener in the 62nd minute after a Vinicius Junior shot was saved, reports AFP.Vinicius then set up Richarlison to score again in the 73rd minute with a stunning acrobatic effort that is surely the goal of the World Cup so far.
Thursday's result continues Brazil's superb record in the World Cup group stage, in which their last defeat came in 1998 against Norway.
Brazil are now already on top of Group G ahead of Switzerland, who beat Cameroon 1-0 earlier and who Brazil meet next.
After the match scorer Richarlison said, "We played well, especially in the second half when our opponents started to tire and we took advantage of that.”
Meanwhile, Serbia coach Dragan Stojkovic said his team "fell away physically" and added that injuries to key players, including Juventus duo Dusan Vlahovic and Filip Kostic, hindered his side.
Bd-pratidin English/Golam Rosul
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