Neymar and Brazil's star-studded squad train for World Cup clash with Serbia - in pictures


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Favourites Brazil will have their guard up when they begin their bid to win a sixth World Cup with a clash against Serbia on Thursday.

Tite's team face Serbia at the Lusail Stadium knowing danger that awaits them after Argentina's shock defeat against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday at the same venue and Germany's loss to Japan on Wednesday.

Brazil can rely on Neymar, who has been in ominous form for Paris Saint-Germain. He has 75 career goals for Brazil and needs just two more to match Pele’s all-time national record.

However, the world's most expensive player won't be alone in his attack: he will be surrounded by a number of capable forwards, including Rodrygo, Richarlison, Antony, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and Pedro along with Raphinha and Vinicius Junior.

"In my opinion these players will help Neymar because they can divide up the responsibility and create space for him," said veteran Brazil captain Thiago Silva.

"The atmosphere in the squad is super healthy. The mixture of young players and more experienced ones creates a great connection," he added.

Meanwhile, Serbia coach Dragan Stojkovic dismissed rumours of Brazil spying on their training sessions using a drone, saying the South American giants would gain nothing from viewing their workouts.

Brazil and Serbia have been training at the Al Arabi SC training facilities in Doha, with both teams' bases situated on either side of the road.

"I don't believe they watched us, who are we for them to watch us? They are a football superpower," Stojkovic 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.

The match begins at 11pm UAE time on Thursday.

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

AUSTRALIA SQUAD

Aaron Finch, Matt Renshaw, Brendan Doggett, Michael Neser, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine (captain), Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Jon Holland, Ashton Agar, Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle

WHAT IS GRAPHENE?

It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.

Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.

By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.

In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. 

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid

When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid

Juliet, Naked
Dir: Jesse Peretz
Starring: Chris O'Dowd, Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke​​​​​​​
​​​​​​​Two stars

PROFILE BOX

Company name: Overwrite.ai

Founder: Ayman Alashkar

Started: Established in 2020

Based: Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai

Sector: PropTech

Initial investment: Self-funded by founder

Funding stage: Seed funding, in talks with angel investors

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Updated: November 24, 2022, 7:07 AM`