Serbia had five shots at the goal. Zero on target. Three were off-target and two were blocked. Just two were even fired from inside the box. Brazil swamped them with 22 shots at the goal.
- Advertisement -
No wonder, the Serbian coach Stojković Piksij has summed up the game thus:
“I think the key is that they killed everything for us in the second half, we were disastrous. It’s surprising to me, Brazil is too good a team and they took advantage of that. Where we are strongest, we were not good. The first half was fair, but some things happened,” he told reporters after 0-2 loss to Brazil.
The coach believes it wasn’t the matter of tactics by the difference lay in physicality. Serbian players are considered and did look stronger, taller but the coach believes they lacked intensity in the second half.
- Advertisement -
“It’s not a matter of tactics, I’m sorry that we failed in the physical sense. I’m sorry we don’t have healthy players, we have to use these few days to rest and decide our fate in the next two games.
“The intensity was really high in the second half, we gave too much space to the Brazilians. But the key point for me is that my team physically was completely down — so I want to know why, because I don’t. This is a surprise for me, something strange.”
The coach also brought up injuries to key players that hurt the team. “We have three injuries Kostić, Mitrović and Vlahović, we came in such condition and that is the real truth. Brazil completely dominated in the second half, said Stojković.
- Advertisement -
“I think both Brazil and Serbia were on equal level in the first 45 minutes, I didn’t see Brazil much more dominant at that time,” Stojkovic told a news conference.
“We got defeated in the second half, when we literally fell physically, and we were no longer a team — and of course Brazil knew how to take advantage of this. We simply could not recognise our team.”
Did Brazil use drone to spy on Serbia?
- Advertisement -
Ahead of the game there was reports that Brazil had been spying on Serbian camp with a drone but the coach Stojkovic had dismissed them.
- Advertisement -
“”I don’t believe they watched us, who are we for them to watch us? They are a football superpower,” he had then said. “I think it’s misinformation. And even if it was a drone, I don’t know what they would have seen, nothing special,” he joked. “”Brazil are a great team, one of the best in the world. For me they have a golden generation at the moment and I expect a very difficult game…” It was difficult, all right.