Brazil opened their World Cup campaign with a 2-0 win over Serbia, with Richarlison scoring twice.
Just after the hour mark, the Tottenham forward broke the deadlock with a close-range finish at the Lusail Iconic Stadium.
Richarlison then sealed the points with a stunning acrobatic effort 17 minutes from time, giving Tite’s side a 1-0 lead in Group G.
The Selecao has not lost their first match at the finals since 1934, when they were defeated 3-1 by Spain in the first round.
Brazil, unbeaten in their previous 15 World Cup group games, dominated the first half but failed to create many scoring chances.
Casemiro tested Vanja Milinkovic-Savic from long range, but the Serbia goalkeeper was quick off his line to prevent Vinicius Junior from latching onto Thiago Silva’s precise throughball.
In the 35th minute, the Selecao carved open their opponents’ defense with a neat one-two between Raphinha and Lucas Paqueta, but the Barcelona forward could only shoot straight at Milinkovic-Savic.
After the break, Brazil posed a greater threat. Serbia was saved by Milinkovic-Savic, who denied Raphinha, who had dispossessed Nemanja Gudelj outside his own penalty area, while Neymar fired wide from close range.
Before the Samba Boys finally broke through in the 62nd minute, Alex Sandro rattled the post from 30 yards out; Richarlison prodding home the rebound after Milinkovic-Savic parried Vinicius’ initial effort.
11 minutes later, Richarlison gave Brazil breathing room by controlling Vinicius’ low, hard cross with his left foot before swiveling and sending a magnificent acrobatic volley flying into the bottom corner with his right.
Tite’s team almost extended their lead when Casemiro hit the crossbar and Milinkovic-Savic denied Rodrygo, but the two-goal margin was enough to propel them to the top of Group G.
What does it imply? Brazil’s dominance is eventually revealed.
Brazil had 22 shots to their opponents’ four, but Tite’s two goals were enough to earn the South American giants maximum points, making Tite the first coach to lead the South American giants in consecutive World Cups since Tele Santana (1982 and 1986).
Meanwhile, Serbia has now lost eight of their ten finals matches since 2006, with only Australia (nine) having lost more.
Richarlison’s rich vein of form is still going strong.
Richarlison, who was chosen ahead of Gabriel Jesus to lead Brazil’s line, seized the opportunity with both hands, sealing the victory with two contrasting strikes.
Tottenham forward has now found the net nine times in his last seven international appearances, becoming the first Selecao player to do so since Neymar eight years ago.
Neymar is once again a wanted man.
Despite being withdrawn with 10 minutes remaining, Neymar is already the World Cup’s most fouled player, having drawn nine fouls — four more than any other player.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward will be disappointed that he did not score. However, he was involved in a game-high 20 duels, with only Vinicius (four) having more shots on goal (three).
What comes next?
On Monday, both teams will return to Group G action. Brazil looks to build on their win over Switzerland, while Serbia looks to respond against Cameroon.