Twitter explodes as Richarlison wonder goal seals 2-0 Brazil win over Serbia in FIFA World Cup

It was a quiet first half, with both sides feeling their way into the game. Serbian goalkeeper Vanja Milinković-Savić was fantastic throughout.

He put in a brilliant performance and made a vital save in the 28th minute to deny Vinicius Jr as he swept the ball away from the Real Madrid attacker.

Brazil only mustered up four shots in the first half, the lowest they have managed in a FIFA World Cup group game since against Ivory Coast in 2010.

However, Selecao were at their best in the second half, and Tottenham Hotspur forward Richarlison stole the show.

The 25-year-old first struck in the 62nd minute, Neymar produced magic to get away from several Serbian defenders.

The Paris Saint-Germain attacker played the ball to Vinicius, who curled an effort at Milinković-Savić's goal.

The Torino shot-stopper denied the Madrid man, but Richarlison was in the right spot to tap home the opener.

He brought the ball up before delivering a phenomenal bicycle kick that gave Milinković-Savić no chance.

It is his 19th goal in 17 appearances for his national team, and he is well and truly Selecao's new number nine.

Tite's side were dominant in the second half and laid down a marker of their intentions to lift the FIFA World Cup for the sixth time.

However, there was cause for concern when Neymar was forced off in the 80th minute with an injury.

Nevertheless, the win propels Selecao to the top of Group G, having scored one more goal than Switzerland, who beat Cameroon 1-0 earlier in the day.

Here are some reactions from fans to a night where Brazil sealed a World Cup opening victory:

Brazilian icon Romario urges Neymar to seal his legacy by winning the FIFA World Cup with Brazil

Selecao legend Romario has told Neymar that the moment is coming for him to seal Brazil their sixth FIFA World Cup.

The iconic forward discussed the criticism that has come the PSG man's way and that he deserves to be the man to lift the trophy for Selecao a sixth time.

About the author

Matthew is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who has been covering news, rumors and match reports for close to 3 years. Learning creative writing from University of Essex, he combined his skills and passion for football take up writing for the sport professionally.

Matthew always strives to go beyond a story and offer unique and lesser-known insights, while maintaining an unbiased tone in his articles. His reporting exploits at the company have helped him gain a humungous readership of 25 million, with one of his articles raking in a whopping 724,000 reads.

A Manchester United fan since childhood, Matthew admired Sir Alex Ferguson for his loyalty and brave coaching style. His favorite footballer is Thierry Henry, believing the Frenchman to be uniquely talented and charismatic. An ardent Three Lions fan, England's penalty shootout win over Colombia in 2018 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment of all time, and he believes that Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe will have a Ballon d’Or duopoly after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

He also follows his local EFL League Two clubs AFC Wimbledon and Sutton United, and spends his free time watching and writing about professional wrestling. He also likes to work out, watch movies and go for night outs.

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