Serbia coach says he is not afraid of Brazil

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Serbia is not afraid of Brazil, opponent in the debut of the World Cup in Qatar, and will try to play “intelligently” to add points that bring the team closer to the round of 16, coach Dragan Stojkovic said this Wednesday (23).

“The game starts 0-0, so Brazil has a chance to win, but so does Serbia. We are not afraid of any team, including Brazil, because we don’t need to be afraid of anyone,” Stojkovic told a news conference in Doha.

The coach, who played in two World Cups as a player for the former Yugoslavia (1990 and 1998), stated that his charges will play “the best football” to neutralize the powerful Brazilian attack.

“Brazil is an excellent team, one of the best in the world. I think they have a golden generation right now. We expect a great game, very difficult, but as a team we have to focus on ourselves”, analyzed Stojkovic.

“Intelligence makes all the difference and that’s the kind of football we want to play,” he added. “We will try to score as many points as possible to pass the stage, that is our objective”.

But “if we don’t beat Brazil, it won’t be the end of the world.

Serbia, which sent Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portuguese team to the European play-off, has its most important players in attack: Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham/ENG), Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus/ITA), Dusan Tadic (Ajax/Netherlands) and Luka Jovic (Fiorentina/ITA).

“Brazil is a great team in terms of collective and individual, but we are focused on our great national team and for our country to feel proud of us”, said Tadic, captain of the Serbian national team.

Sojkovic did not confirm the starting lineup that will face Brazil at the Lusail stadium, and was optimistic about the recovery of Mitrovic, scorer of 14 goals in 13 games in the European Qualifiers and in the League of Nations.

“It’s a big question whether he will be with us tomorrow because he has muscle problems,” he said.

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