Inverted fullbacks and advanced playmakers: How Brazil overcame Serbia’s aggressive defensive system – tactical analysis

Coming into the competition as one of the favourites to win it, Brazil’s first match in the 2022 World Cup was long awaited. Their first challenge in the search for the historic Hexa was Serbia, a tough opponent led by Dragan Stojković.

Although this Serbian generation is a special one, Brazil were fortunate as Juventus’ stars Dušan Vlahović and Filip Kostić were unfit to start the match.

Nonetheless, the Europeans assembled a competitive and relentless side with the goal of upsetting the South American giants.

From the very beginning of the match, it was clear overcoming this Serbian side would be far from easy.

Contrary to many people’s expectations, Stojković’s men were aggressive and intense without the ball.

The 57-year-old manager introduced a solid defensive strategy to keep the Seleção from imposing themselves.

On the other end, Tite’s men were incredibly sound defensively, keeping Serbia from creating any real danger.

With time, however, Brazil began to control the match and break down Serbia’s tight defensive structure.

Tottenham’s Richarlison was the man of the hour, scoring the only two goals of the match. Chelsea’s Thiago Silva and Man United’s Casemiro were also unsung heroes in Brazil’s first win of the competition.

At any rate, this victory confirmed Brazil’s chances to bring the trophy back to South America, but most importantly, it showed the resilience and security Tite’s men have when facing aggressive opponents.

In this tactical analysis, we will examine the tactics behind Brazil’s 2-0 victory over Serbia.

In addition to exploring and identifying how Stojković’s defensive system caused Brazil trouble, this analysis will also look at how Brazil were able to assume control of the match and find the answers to Serbia’s puzzle.

Finally, we will also look at Brazil’s incredibly secure defensive system.

Lineups

Throughout this first week, the noise around Brazil’s camp was how attacking Tite’s line-up in the opening match was rumoured to be. O Globo, a famous newspaper in Brazil, regularly tends to report the Seleção’s starting XI a few days before their matches. This time was no different, and with such an attacking line-up, there was a lot of talk about how this side would actually play in the game.

With Alisson in goal, the backline did not have any surprises with Danilo, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, and Alex Sandro making up a back four. In the midfield, however, there was a significant change. Casemiro was the only true midfielder in the eleven, with Neymar and Lucas Paquetá being the more advanced players ahead of him. The front three consisted of Vini Jr., Richarlison, and Raphinha. With the absence of a second midfielder such as Fred or Bruno Guimarães, there was a lot of talk regarding the variations and adaptations Tite would make.

For Serbia, without Dušan Vlahović, Stojković lined them up in a 3-4-2-1 formation. However, in the game, it actually became a 3-4-1-2 with Dušan Tadić joining Aleksandar Mitrović up top. The back three consisted of Nikola Milenković, Miloš Veljković, and Strahinja Pavlović. The wing-backs were Andrija Živković and Filip Mladenović, while Saša Lukić and Nemanja Gudelj formed a double pivot. Lazio’s Sergej Milinković-Savić was the number 10, and Tadić and Mitrović were the two centre-forwards.

Stojković’s plan

Serbia displayed a surprising defensive aggressiveness from the very beginning. Stojković refused to allow Brazil to assume control of the match, and with such an intense system, they made life extremely frustrating for the Seleção in the first half. Although they had 60% possession in the first 45, Tite’s men only managed a total of four shots. Serbia allowed next to no time on the ball for the Brazilian players, making it extremely difficult for them to ensure the control they desire.