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Neymar Jr. is expected to start when Brazil take on Serbia in their opening game of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar on Thursday, November 24. The five-time world champions come into the World Cup as one of the pre-tournament favorites.
It is widely accepted that Neymar will play a vital role for Brazil should they happen to go further into the latter stages of the World Cup. Their campaign begins against Serbia in Group G of the tournament.
The Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) forward is expected to start and lead Brazil's attack in their opening game of the FIFA World Cup. The Selecao have tremendous strength and depth in attack with manager Tite having numerous options to play alongside their star forward.
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According to a report from Metro, Tite is expected to name an offensive starting XI comprising of Neymar, Richarlison, Raphinha and Vinicius Junior. Other attacking options at Brazil's disposal include Arsenal youngster Gabriel Martinelli and new Manchester United signing Antony.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup could be huge as far as Neymar is concerned. The former FC Barcelona forward is currently just two goals behind legendary forward Pele to become Brazil's all-time leading goalscorer.
Brazil have been handed a pretty similar group compared to the 2018 World Cup. They have been drawn alongside Cameroon, Switzerland and the aforementioned Serbia. Switzerland and Serbia were part of Brazil's group during the last FIFA World Cup as well. Brazil topped the group on that occasion with Switzerland finishing second.
Brazil, meanwhile, secured a 2-0 win against Serbia during the last World Cup with Paulinho and Thiago Silva scoring the two goals. Silva's goal was assisted by Brazil's talismanic forward.
Neymar has been in some great form for Paris Saint-Germain ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup
Neymar has been one of PSG's best players during the 2022-23 season. The forward scored 15 goals and provided 12 assists from just 20 games across all competitions before club football was halted for the FIFA World Cup. He is currently PSG's second-highest goalscorer for the season and only trails Kylian Mbappe (19 goals).
The Brazilian forward is also second only to Lionel Messi on the leaderboard for the number of assists this season. Messi currently leads the charts with 14 assists across all competitions.
The PSG forward has faced Serbia twice in his illustrious international career with Brazil. However, he has failed to find the back of the net in either of those two appearances against the Serbs.
