Casemiro’s late deflected strike sealed Brazil’s place in the knockout stages of the Fifa World Cup as they defeated Switzerland 1-0 in Qatar.
Brazil are the masters of the World Cup. They’ve won it a record five times and by beating the Swiss on Monday evening, they have become the first side in the tournament’s history to go 17 games unbeaten in the group stage of the tournament.
The match wasn’t the prettiest of affairs for a nation renowned for its sorcery and moments of magic but they did the most important thing - they found a way to win. Tite’s side can now start thinking about the knockout stages as the three points sees them join reigning champions France as the second side confirmed to be in the round of 16 as Group G winners. It has been said many times that squad depth will be key for the nation that goes all the way in the World Cup and the changes Tite made against the Swiss helped his side to win the game - with Antony, Rodrygo and Bruno Guimaraes all coming on in the second half.
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The first exciting piece of action in a game that was more cagey than anything came from the Brazilians. A deft touch from Lucas Paqueta set Richarlison away but his pull-back for Vinicius Jr was snuffed out by the Swiss. After a lengthy spell where neither side were able to conjure up any major chances, Brazil gave a glimpse of their capabilities. Raphinha picked up the ball on the right and spotted the run of Vinicius Jr at the far post, but the Real Madrid star’s scuffed shot was parried by Yann Sommer.
The goalkeeper was then on hand to deny Raphinha’s rifled shot from range as Brazil were struggling to play their way through the Swiss back line. It was a lacklustre first half from A Selecao but it was a strong half from a defensive point of view from Switzerland, they just needed to offer more going forward themselves.
Champions are those who find a way to win even when they aren't at their best and the substitutes helped to get Brazil over the line. And that is why they have been tipped by many to go all the way this winter.
And they certainly sprung into life in the opening stages of the second half. They were starting to exploit Brazil’s defence when A Selecao committed too many players forward in search of an opener. Ruben Vargas was able to dance his way past a couple of defenders before seeing his effort blocked for a corner.
Down the other end, Vinicius Jr put in an inviting cross from the left but Richarlison on the stretch couldn’t get the crucial touch to break the deadlock. Tite’s side thought they had taken the lead when Vinicius Jr was released down the left in acres of space before beating a defender and slotting past Sommer. But after a quick VAR check, the goal was disallowed as Richarlison was offside in the build-up.
When it looked like Switzerland were going to hold on for a very impressive point, Casemiro stepped up with a thumping strike that sailed past Sommer after a touch off Manuel Akanji on its way through to give the sea of yellow in the crowd something to cheer about in what had largely been a quiet game.
Switzerland boss Murat Yakin said his side could do something special at the World Cup and while they suffered a crue late defeat, his side looked largely resilient against their opponents. For 80 minutes, they were able to nullify arguably the best attacking team in the tournament. Granted Brazil were without Neymar, and perhaps that was key, but Tite’s squad is still blessed with an array of talent in those key attacking areas - and Switzerland were able to keep them quiet.
It was only last year when Switzerland knocked out France at Euro 2020 in what was a huge shock. Although they conceded late on they have shown that they have the organisation and discipline to handle some of the big guns in this tournament and they could indeed shock a few nations if they reach the last 16.
With a tough battle with Serbia to come to settle who joins Brazil in the knockout stages, Switzerland will have a lot of defensive positives to take with them into that crunch clash, but they will need to be able to offer a lot more going forward.
