FIFA WC: Brazil wait on Neymar scan after ankle injury against Serbia

LUSAIL: Concerns have been raised after Brazil's Neymar's fitness limped out of his side's 2-0 victory against Serbia in their FIFA World Cup opener.

Brazil forward was injured after a blow to his ankle and looked in agony as the ice was taped to his ankle.

As per Skysports, Brazil team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar joined manager Tite in the post-match press conference and said that the star player Neymar will have a scan following the ankle blow.

"Neymar had an injury on the right ankle, direct trauma. Due to the shock that he had with the knee of the Serbian player, we started immediately the treatment on the bench. He continued with the treatment with the physiotherapy," said Lasmar in a statement as quoted by Skysports.

"We need 24-48 hours to have a better understanding through the MRI. Tomorrow we will have a new assessment. Now we need to wait, we cannot make any premature comments on his evolution. We need to wait. He stayed 11 minutes on the pitch after his injury up until the point he could no longer continue," he added.

"Neymar, he felt this pain throughout the game. But he decided to stay on the pitch to help the team. It's remarkable that he could bare this pain while the team is playing," Brazil manager Tite added.

Richarlison's second-half double goal gave the five-time World Cup winners a comfortable victory, but Neymar's injury substitution with 10 minutes remaining stained the victory.

Following a challenge by Nikola Milenkovic, Neymar developed an ankle issue and played for 10 minutes until being replaced by Antony after falling off the ball.

The 30-year-old Brazilian had ice taped to the damaged area and appeared to be in pain. Several Selecao bench players tried to soothe him.

Coming to the match, Richarlison scored two goals in the space of nine minutes as Brazil overpowered Serbia in the second half to clinch victory by 2-0 in the Group G game of the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022 at the Lusail Stadium.

Five-time champions Brazil announced their arrival in style as they defeated Serbia to go top of Group G.

For more than an hour, the European team held the top-ranked team at bay, but the Tottenham striker Richarlison finally gave Brazil the lead with a close-range finish after Vanja Milinkovic-Savic deflected Vinicius Junior's shot into his path.

Serbia made it challenging for an hour. By the time the match was done, it was impossible to recall that Brazil had been so ruthless in destroying their opponents. The openings were there for Serbia to take advantage of as soon as they had to look for a goal.

Then, Richarlison exploded the Lusail Stadium in Qatar with an incredible turn-and-shot goal that sailed past the Serbia goalkeeper to double the lead. His outstanding performance more than justified Brazil's decision to choose him as their striker over Arsenal's Gabriel Jesus.

As Tite's players attempted to break down a stubborn Serbian team, Raphinha earlier missed opportunities to score the game-winning goal either side of halftime, shooting tamely on both occasions. Alex Sandro's swerving effort from distance also struck the foot of the post.

Brazil played well defensively as they extended their 20-game streak of perfect World Cup opening games. This turned out to be a strong start, even though there would be tougher tests as the five-time champions attempt to end their 20-year drought in this competition.