Switzerland delivered a gutsy performance in their World Cup opener on Sunday as they held five-time World Champions Brazil to a 1-1 draw.
Going into the game, not many would have expected the modest Switzerland to come away with a point especially considering that Brazil boast some of the World’s best players such as Neymar, Phililip Coutinho and Marcelo.
Brazil dominated the opening minutes of the game and Coutinho scored a stunner during the first-half. It was definite that Switzerland were targeting Neymar during the game.
The PSG man was awarded 10 free-kicks which is more than any other player has been given since the 1998 edition of the tournament. Valon Behrami, Fabian Schar and Stephen Lichsteiner all received yellow cards for their fouls on Brazil’s main attacking threat.
Switzerland found a way back into the game during the 50th minute. They were awarded a corner and found an equalizer as Steven Zuber’s header went in.
The result leaves Serbia as the surprise leaders of Group E with all of the team’s having played one game apiece. Brazil next play against Costa Rica on Friday before taking on Serbia next week Wednesday.
Many people are expecting this current Brazil team to go all the way and win the World Cup. I certainly think that they will advance to the deep knockout stages of the competition.
However, it is questionable as to whether they will go on and win the competition. Brazil have not won the World Cup since 2002 and during recent years, they have under performed in major international tournaments by their standards.
The last time that they won a major trophy dates back to 2013 when they claimed the Confederations Cup on home soil.
Though Brazil are still a mighty team, the rest against Switzerland proved that they are not invincible. I would bet on them being eliminated either during the semi-finals or the quarter-finals.