Brazil will start as the favourites against Serbia in the FIFA U-20 World Cup final on Saturday, especially after their impressive performance in the semifinal.
While Brazil are renowned for their attacking ability, it is the defence that has been the cornerstone behind their run to the U-20 World Cup final in New Zealand.
However, Brazil unleashed all their attacking instincts in the semis against Senegal to ease through to the showpiece match.
Marcos Guilherme helped himself to a brace in a 5-0 win over Senegal, with the match as good as put to bed in the first 19 minutes where the Brazilians scored three goals.
"We've had some good games and we've had some problems, but as a team we've grown through those difficult matches," Brazil coach Rogerio Micale, whose side needed penalties to go through in both the last-16 and quarterfinal matches, said. "[In the semifinal] everyone played perfectly.
"I am very happy with my team as a whole. When no one scores against us that shows that our defence is working well and it has been a whole team effort."
Score is what Serbia will look to do against Brazil in this final in Auckland, but having watched Senegal concede goals in a hurry, the European side will also be wary of leaving themselves too open.
Serbia have a pretty good defence of their own though, having conceded just four goals all tournament, and they will also need to call on their big-match, "keeping the concentration levels high right till the end" resources as well to prevent Brazil from winning their sixth U-20 World Cup title, and with it go level with the current record-holder Argentina.
All those resources were definitely called upon in the semifinal against Mali, with Serbia needing an extra time goal to book their place in the final. Another quality performance, and a first U-20 WC title could be theirs.
"We always dreamed of a final against Brazil," Serbia coach Veljko Paunovic told FIFA's official website. "They're a fantastic team who won their semifinal in style. It's going to be a great match against a great rival.
"It would be wonderful to make history. We've already achieved an awful lot and we're not going to starting heaping pressure on the players now. I just want them to go out and play and to have fun.
"This is a wonderful experience. They have to stay true to our style and our values. If we do that, things will work out right for us."
Where to Watch Live
The FIFA U-20 World Cup Final is scheduled for a 5 pm local time (10.30 am IST, 6 am BST, 1 am ET) start on Saturday with live coverage in India on Sony Six and Sony Kix. The match can also be watched via live streaming online on Livsports.
Audience watching Brazil vs Serbia in the US can flip their remotes to Fox Sports, while the final can also be watched via a live stream on FoxSoccer2Go.
Viewers in the UK and Europe, including Serbia, can watch the action on Eurosport, while the U-20 WC final can be live streamed via Eurosport Player. The final will be shown live in Brazil on SporTV and Globo.
