Brazil vs. Serbia Prediction: 2022 World Cup Odds

An odd pairing, but such is the intrigue of World Cup group stage encounters. In fact, this is the second tournament in a row where the two nations square off. 

Surprise, surprise: Brazil is favoured. The football gurus pin them at -238. They also see this as an offensive match, with the O/U at 2.75 goals scored. 

Brazil vs. Serbia Betting Analysis

Even though the two countries met on the pitch just four years ago at the 2018 edition, this is only the third overall tête-à-tête. The first was for a friendly in 2014 which the Seleçao conquered by a slim 1-0 margin. Then came the aforementioned Russia game, a group-stage affair that favoured the boys from Brazil 2-0.

To consider Brazil’s World Cup history is to bask in the glory of success, albeit much less so in recent times. The country is five-time champions, twice runner-up, and earned a third-place once. The most recent victory was, shockingly, 20 years ago in Japan. Fans need no reminder of how 2014 ended, and 2018 saw them exit earlier than anticipated, falling to the Belgians at the quarter-final stage. 

Serbia’s World Cup record is not as illustrious. To be fair, they’ve played twelve competitions, albeit not always under the same country name for very complicated political reasons. Their best finishes were two fourth places, although both were a long time ago (1930 and 1962). Russia 2018 started swimmingly with a win over Costa Rica. What followed was a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to the Swiss, then the 2-0 Brazil game we mentioned. 

Brazil

Save for a 2021 Copa America defeat in the final against eternal rivals Argentina, things have gone swimmingly for the Seleção. Their World Cup qualifying tests went swimmingly. It was a longer process than for a lot of other football confederations, with 17 games played in total. Under the guidance of Tite, Brazil won 14 and drew thrice. Their goal differential was an impressive +35, far and away the best of the bunch. 

To say this squad is loaded is an understatement. Pick a name. Any name. Neymar, who’s lighting it up at PSG this year. Gabriel Jesus, Arsenal’s golden summer signing. Gabriel Martinelli, Jesus’ fellow Gunner forward. Richarlison at Spurs. Vinícius Júnior, who’s dominating La Liga with Real Madrid. Fabinho at Liverpool. Éder Militao at Real Madrid. Alisson in net (Liverpool). The list goes on, and on…

Serbia

Lest they be overlooked, the Serbs arrive at Qatar with some oomph to their punches too. Credit where credit is due: the squad’s World Cup qualifying went quite well. 8 matches saw them claim victory in six and draw in two, with a goal differential of +9, none of which are numbers to sneeze at. Furthermore, they finished top of a group that featured perennial threat Portugal. Better still, they defeated Ronaldo’s gang 2-1 to clinch their spot at Qatar.

While we won’t wax poetic about this team’s starting lineup as we did for their opponents, there are definitely players of interest here. Chief is forward Aleksandar Mitrović who plays for Fulham in the Premier League. Anyone who has watched the club’s games this season knows he leads that team. Consistently a threat in the box, if he receives a decent center, he’s ready and jump and thump the ball. Veteran leadership comes in the form of winger Dušan Tadić, who captains the Eredivise’s mighty Ajax.

World Cup Prediction: Who Will Win Brazil vs Serbia?

Brazil 3-1 Serbia