Brazil did not have facilities in front of the organized defense of Switzerland, but guaranteed the victory of 1 to 0, this Monday (28) in the Stadium 974 (the famous arena built with containers on the shores of the bay of Doha and that will be dismantled in the end of the Cup), which assured him in advance of one of the two places in Group G for the round of 16 of the Qatar Cup.
? Brazil have booked their ticket to the Round of 16@adidasfootball ?? #FIFAWorldCup
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 28, 2022
The victory had a special flavor, as it was the first of the Brazilian team over the European team in World Cups, after two draws (in the 1950 Cup, held in Brazil, and the 2018 Cup, in Russia??
The first moves built by the Brazilian team were exploring Richarlison’s speed on the wing. But no chances were created, meaning goalkeeper Sommer didn’t need to get in on the action. It was clear that a dribbler like Neymar was needed to break through Switzerland’s defensive lines. By opting for two holding midfielders in the starting lineup, Casemiro and Fred, Tite believed that Paquetá could do that job. However, he appeared less than expected.
Paquetá crossed a ball in the small area in the 18th minute, which Elvedi cut before reaching Richarlison. The Swiss bolt fame, created more than 70 years ago, made sense in this Monday’s confrontation, as the European team defended itself with nine players throughout the initial stage. Except in the 26th minute, when Raphinha’s launch was accurate for Vinícius Júnior, alone, to catch the ball at first. It was Brazil’s first goal kick, and Sommer put it for a corner.
At 31, it was Raphinha himself who took a risk from outside the area, in the middle of the goal, for the Swiss goalkeeper to fit in. In fact, the team from Canarinho was in the first 45 minutes. Without creativity, Tite’s team fell into the trap of the Swiss Murat Yakin and accepted the 0-0.
It remains scoreless going into the break between ?? and ??#FIFAWorldCup ?? #Qatar2022
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 28, 2022
For the final stage, Rodrygo replaced Paquetá, a sign that the initial strategy did not work. In the first minutes, the selection got worse, allowing the Swiss to press and bother Alisson’s goal. In the 16th minute, Casemiro finally made a perfect pass to Vinícius Júnior, who passed as he wanted by defender Elvedi and touched Sommer’s exit. Strangely, the judge in El Salvador annulled the goal, with the help of the VAR (video referee), claiming an impediment at the beginning of the play.
After that Tite made several substitutions. Switzerland, static in defense, held the 0-0 and gave up going on the attack. Finally, at the 37th minute, Casemiro received a pass from Rodrygo in the area, took it first and hit hard to swing the nets defended by Sommer and score a great goal.
Breaking the deadlock ??#FIFAWorldCup ?? #Qatar2022 pic.twitter.com/TFEbYdpWmt
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 28, 2022
In the 47th minute, Vinícius Júnior had a golden chance, going free towards the Swiss area, but was disarmed. Interestingly, he came out laughing at yet another missed chance. Rodrygo, in sequence, also had everything to score a goal and kicked over a defender. Switzerland was in the circle, in a match in which Brazil showed little football in the 1st half, but did enough to win. In a World Cup, sometimes, more important than playing well, is winning the matches.
In the next round, starting at 4 pm (Brasília time) on Friday (2), Brazil (already qualified for the round of 16 and with everything to be in first place in the group) faces Cameroon. At the same time, Switzerland will have a European duel against Serbia. Luck is out.
Datasheet:
Monday, November 28, 2022
BRAZIL 1 x 0 SWITZERLAND
Place: Doha (Qatar)
Judge: Ivan Arcides Barton (El Salvador)
Public: 43,649
Brazil: Alisson, Éder Militão, Thiago Silva, Marquinhos and Alex Sandro (Alex Telles); Casemiro, Fred (Bruno Guimarães) and Lucas Paquetá (Rodrygo); Vinícius Júnior, Richarlison (Gabriel Jesus) and Raphinha (Antony). T: Tite.
Switzerland: Sommer, Widmer (Frei), Elvedi, Akanji and Rodríguez; Freuler, Xhaka, Sow (Aebischer) and Rieder (Steffen); Embolo (Seferovic) and Vargas (Fernandes). T: Murat Yakin.
Goal: In the 2nd half: Casemiro (37).
