World Cup 2018: 3 reasons why Brazil eased past Serbia

#2 Absorbed the Serbian pressure well

Serbia piled on the pressure in search of an equalizer.

Serbia had nothing to lose, especially after going a goal down towards the end of the first half. They came out all guns blazing and took the game to Brazil. They slowly got into the game in the second period and looked to lay siege on Allison's goal. Despite the lack of attacking flair, the Serbs bullied their way into the opposition half and set up camp.

Brazil were on the back foot for the most of the opening quarter of an hour in the second half, but Serbia really put the hammer down for about 8 minutes after the 60-minute mark. They came terribly close on a couple of occasions but the central defensive partnership of Thiago Silva and Miranda put themselves about and forced the attackers into errors or made life difficult for them at the crucial moments.

With the competition and attacking talent only set to get better in the latter stages of the competition, Tite will be delighted at the way his team has managed to hold firm through periods of the game when the opposition is on top. Just the solitary goal conceded in three games so far is something to build on, defensively, for Brazil.