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Brazil beat Serbia 2-0 at the Spartak Stadium in Moscow to clinch qualification to the knockout stages of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Goals in either half from Paulinho and Thiago Silva led the Selecao to their second win of the tournament.
Paulinho's goal nine minutes before the end of the first 45 minutes gave Brazil the lead before Silva's header midway through the second half wrapped up the win for Tite's team.
Brazil ends the group stage with seven points and will take on Mexico in the Round of 16 on Monday, July 2 whereas the loss for Serbia knocks them out of the tournament as finished third behind Switzerland with three points in Group E.
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Here are the best and worst players from the game:
#5 Best: Paulinho
Brazil's struck at a timely juncture in the first half following a couple of missed chances prior to the opening goal as it gave them the much-needed edge and breathing space in a must-win game.
Paulinho put the Selecao ahead in the 36th minute, as he latched onto Phillipe Coutinho's beautiful dink and got the end of his boot to put it beyond the incoming Serbian goalkeeper as his perfectly timed run and touch got Brazil rolling.
Playing on the right of the three-man midfield, the Barcelona midfielder chipped in equally both defensively as well as going forward.
Despite having an 88% passing accuracy, Paulinho did not contribute any significant service but completed some important runs into the box before being substituted in the 65th minute.
#4 Worst: Adem Ljajic
Adem Ljajic started his second World Cup 2018 game as Sergej Milinkovic Savic shifted back into his natural role of defensive midfield. However, the Torino man's inclusion turned out to be unsuccessful as he ended up being one of the worst Serbian players on the night.
Deployed in the No. 10 role behind striker Aleksander Mitrovic, Ljajic's involvement in the game was very minimal.
He was unable to fulfil the role he was included for as his hold up play and link-up were below average.
Ljajic made just one key pass during his time on the pitch and lost the ball twice in the final third of the pitch, received a yellow card and was duly taken off after 74 minutes for his mediocre performance.
On top of that, the 26-year-old failed to create any chances for himself as he finished with zero attempts on goal and found it hard to strike an understanding with his teammates as Serbia ended up wasting possession and time whenever Ljajic received the ball.
#3 Best: Neymar
Neymar probably had one of his best games of the World Cup as Brazil secured a satisfying 2-0 win in their final group game. The winger was very active and motivated, participating and contributing in all the attacking aspects.
The winger could have ideally scored a brace, his first shot forced a save from the goalkeeper midway through the first half and his second real goalscoring opportunity arrived in the 80th minute but a minor pause in releasing his shot immediately allowed Vladimir Stojkovic to make the save.
However, he did get an assist on the night when he served up a corner right on the head of Thiago Silva and the Brazilian captain headed in to seal the three points as the Selecao doubled their lead.
Neymar was dispossessed four times but managed to complete a whopping nine dribbles along with four key passes and two through balls respectively as he baffled the Serbian defensive players with his lightning pace, quick feet and swift ball movement.
#2 Worst: Aleksander Mitrovic
When it came to the number of chances created, Serbia matched up pretty evenly against Brazil on Wednesday night. The majority of the opportunities went in favour of their frontman Aleksander Mitrovic but he turned out to be lacklustre.
The 23-year-old had two shots on goal out of his four attempts with his best chance being a headed effort that went straight into the hands of Alisson and blew another ideal goalscoring opportunity in the second half when he headed his effort straight into the body of Thiago Silva with the sight of a wide-open goal looming in front of him.
Mitrovic's aerial game was on point as he won seven headers but his coordination with his fellow attackers was very disappointing.
His link up and the return pass to his teammates was very weak as he completed a mere 37% of his passes.
This caused a lot of promising attacking build-ups getting broken up outside the box which further ruined Serbia's momentum that they had sustained for a short period of time and were forced to start over again.
His inadequate passing also eliminated the threat from the likes of Dusan Tadic and Filip Kostic as the duo had only two shots on goal during the entire course of the match and were not able to test Alisson with their long-range shooting.
#1 Best: Phillipe Coutinho
Phillipe Coutinho has arguably been Brazil's best player of the World Cup so far. His consistent performances in all three group games has been pivotal as the Selecao finished in first place in Group E.
Coutinho got his third assist of the tournament when he laid out a picturesque lobbed pass to Paulinho and the midfielder complied to install Brazil's advantage.
The Barcelona man hardly puts a foot wrong against Serbia as he drifted, cut inside and interchanged passes excellently with the front three, setting the tempo of the game for his side.
The 26-year-old was able to authorize himself on the game and created two back to back chances midway during the first half. Coutinho's skillfulness and ease in control of the ball caught the Serbian defenders off guard as they were unable to stop him even with their intentional challenges as his pace caused them a lot of trouble.
Phillipe Coutinho finished the game with two shots, three key passes and two through balls combined with a 90% pass accuracy along with three dribbles.
He tracked back to help out in defensive and added up a couple of well-timed tackles and clearances to his all-round performance.
What did you think about the performance of Brazil in their win over Serbia? Sound off your opinions in the comments section below!
