Richarlison primed to channel inner R9 as Brazil chase sixth World Cup

 

Unsurprisingly, Brazil got their World Cup campaign off to a winning start. There were some concerns over how Tite's side would live up to their favourites billing, especially having watched on as powerhouse pair Argentina and Germany both got their respective campaigns off to a disastrous start, losing to Saudi Arabia and Japan, yet Brazil, despite coming up against a tough Serbia side, earned a 2-0 win. 

 

In truth, Brazil didn't really have to kick it up a notch to beat Serbia, though an inspired Vanja Milinkovic-Savic did give them a minor scare at the Lusail Stadium, the goalkeeper the Milinkovic-Savic to actually impress on Thursday night. The Selecao held firm to restrict Serbia to just five shots, none of which troubled Alisson, all the while mustering 23 shots of their own, with nine of those hitting the target. 

 

Of those nine, two were courtesy of Richarlison. The Tottenham striker scored goals number eight and nine in his last seven Brazil outings at Serbia's expense, taking his total for the national team to 19, marking the Spurs man as their 25th highest scorer in history. Considering Richarlison has never been particularly prolific at club level - he has scored just 17 Premier League goals since the start of 2020/21, and none for Spurs this season - that's a remarkable achievement. 

 

When it became clear that Richarlison would be first choice frontman for Brazil in Qatar, there were eyebrows raised. Tite isn't short of forward options, but Richarlison had missed the best part of a month for Spurs with a calf issue, only returning in early November, so was lacking match fitness. In addition, the 25-year-old has scored in only one of his 15 appearances for Spurs this season, netting both goals in a 2-0 win over Marseille in early September. The brace came after the French side had been reduced to 10 men. 

 

Richarlison isn't the archetypal Brazilian forward. He isn't as technically sound as Neymar, nor does he have the same driving approach as Vinicius Junior, yet, like Darwin Nunez with Liverpool, Richarlison brings the chaos to the Brazil frontline and with those in support pulling opposition defences this way and that, a striker to cause bedlam in the opposition box is exactly what Tite needs to complete the attack. 

 

He gambled on Vinicius Junior's shot being palmed back into the dangerzone by Milinkovic-Savic to break the deadlock from close range, before scoring what may prove to be the goal of the tournament with 15 minutes to go, incidentally showcasing the technical side to his game. Crucially is that Tite was justified in his selection of Richarlison. 

 

 

Flanked by Vinicius Junior and Raphinha, the pair tying the Serbia backline in knots, the pair carried out the support work impressively, making five key passes and four successful dribbles between them. This meant Richarlison could bide his time and wait for his chance to strike, this noted best in that he managed fewer touches (25) than any other starter in Brazil's victory, that including the pass for first half kick off, and just three touches in the Serbia box, the same as Gabriel Martinelli, who came on with five minutes to go. 

 

While he wasn't heavily involved in the build up play for Brazil - Richarlison completed 12 passes, three fewer than Antony, who came on with 10 minutes to play - there was a set task for the forward and that was to put the ball in the back of the net, and he carried out this duty with aplomb. What's all the more impressive is that he hasn't really played this role for Spurs when called upon by Antonio Conte this season. 

 

Harry Kane is the first choice for Conte's side to lead the attack, and bar a sporadic spell against Fulham where Richarlison led the charge, the latter has routinely played in support of the former when used in Conte's favoured three-man forward line. So to have put in a man of the match display against a resolute Serbia side as the focal point is a good omen for Richarlison and Brazil in Qatar. 

 

It's been 20 long years since Brazil earned glory on the international stage in Japan and South Korea with Ronaldo firing Luiz Felipe Scolari's side to silverware in 2002. Fast-forward to the modern day and Tite has his own R9 at his disposal as Brazil go in search of a record-setting sixth World Cup.

Richarlison primed to channel inner R9 as Brazil chase sixth World Cup