Casemiro scores the winning goal against Switzerland
Second round of 16 after France
5 hits effective, etc. The attack is boring
Despite the absence of injury to Neymar (30, Paris Saint-Germain), the “core of the attack”, Brazil confirmed their passage to the round of 16 and sailed towards their sixth World Cup championship.
In the second match against Switzerland in Group G of the group stage of the World Cup held at Stadium 974 in Doha, Qatar on the 29th, Brazil won 1-0 thanks to the winning goal by defensive midfielder Casemiro (30, Manchester United) in the 38th minute of the second half. Brazil, who had 6 points from two consecutive victories, confirmed their advance to the group stage for the second time in Group D, after France. In Group G, Switzerland (W1, L1, 3 pts), Serbia and Cameroon (D1, L1, 1 pt) will compete for the remaining ticket.
Brazil, who top the FIFA rankings and are ‘permanent champions’, Neymar was unable to play due to an ankle injury in their opening match against Serbia, but he was unstoppable. He took 51% of the market share, crushing Switzerland (40%), which ranks 15th in the world. He took 9 shots, more than double Switzerland’s (4), recorded 5 effective shots and was ahead of Switzerland in set-piece games such as free kicks (18) and corners (8). However, luck did not follow.
However, Brazil broke Switzerland’s solid defense with a single shot from Casemiro. When Rodrygo (21, Real Madrid), who was on the left side of the arc, passed a short ball from Vinicius Junior (22, Real Madrid), who was digging in on the left edge of the penalty area, Casemiro vaulted over the left side of the goal area and put his right foot forward – it was a volley across the net. The ball hit the opposing defender and went into the post like lightning. Switzerland blocked Brazil’s wave of attacking attacks with 17 fouls instead of registering just one shot on target, but were unable to block this goal.
Neymar’s absence was regrettable for Brazil, who are contesting for the first time in 20 years since the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup. ESPN, an American sports media outlet, rated the match that day, saying: “The Brazil didn’t have the creative play that Neymar provided to the team” and “they failed to break through Switzerland’s solid defense throughout the match”. In the first match against Serbia, where Neymar played, Brazil won 2-0 with 10 shots on goal out of 24 shots.
Reporter Kim Jeong-hoon [email protected]
