Brazil vs Switzerland: Which side will get off to a good start?

A star-studded Brazil squad will kick off their 2018 World cup when they take on the Swiss on Sunday. Can Brazil live up to expectations in Russia and lift the trophy for the sixth time?

Brazil heads into the 2018 World Cup as one of the favorites to win it all. The Brazilians look to get things started on a high note against Switzerland.

Their last World Cup match was an embarrassing 7-1 loss to Germany on home soil back in 2014 in the semifinals.

For Switzerland, they have an impressive ranking of sixth in the world, thanks to some fairly easy opponents in international friendlies.

Their performance against elite competition remains to be seen and it should be interesting to see how they fare against Neymar and Brazil.

Brazil

When it comes to the South American giants, the first name you think of is Neymar. The 26-year old has been absolutely outstanding for his squad in World Cup play, netting four times and tallying an assist in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Willian and Gabriel Jesus will join Neymar on the attack, with Philippe Coutinho part of the attacking three midfielders in a 4-3-3 formation.

Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino, who had a breakout season in England, won’t be in the starting XI but should see some playing time throughout the tournament.

Brazil shouldn’t have an issue scoring goals; The Samba boys netted more than three times in 61 percent of their qualifiers. They also won 12 of their 18 qualifying games, losing just once.

The success of Brazil offensively will come back to the production of Neymar. He is the star of this team and will look to get them off to a good start on Sunday.

Switzerland

The Swiss played very well on their road to the World Cup, finishing second in qualifying in Group B to European champions Portugal. They would eventually lose to the Portuguese 2-0, but that would be their only loss in ten games during qualifiers.

They also managed to net 23 times during that span, conceding just seven goals. Switzerland is very reliant on Xherdan Shaqiri in the final third, and it stands to reason.

The Stoke City striker was outstanding in the last World Cup, scoring a hat-trick in the group stage against Honduras. Shaqiri has been involved in five of Switzerland’s last six goals in major tournaments, scoring five times and tallying an assist. The Swiss have a very experienced squad that will play in Russia.

Players to watch

For Brazil, aside from Neymar, there are so many players who are a threat. Willian on the right flank is absolutely electric with superior quickness and the ability to whip balls into the box or cut in towards the net.

Gabriel Jesus had a career-best season with EPL champions Manchester City and will definitely make an impact up front for the Brazilians. Real Madrid’s Casemiro is a rock in the midfield and will be feeding balls up to the deadly front line.

For the Swiss, as mentioned before, Xherden Shaqiri is a mainstay offensively for the Swiss. Blessed with a thunder left foot and superior athleticism, it will be interesting to see how he can fare against a very experienced Brazil defense led by Marcelo.

Stephan Lichtsteiner is a threat on the right flank for the Swiss. The former Juventus man, who just recently signed with Arsenal, brings speed and skill in the midfield not to mention a lot of experience. Defensively, AC Milan’s Ricardo Rodriguez is a great piece in the defense for Switzerland who is great with his head.

Predictions

Anyone would say that Brazil will come out on top in this match, and I’ll say the same. But since Vladimir Petkovic took over as bench boss of the Swiss, they haven’t conceded more than two goals in the 35 games he’s been in charge.

Brazil has such a dynamic and world-class attack. Neymar, Willian, Jesus, and Coutinho can all do damage and it will be interesting to see if the experience of the Swiss can contain them.

A draw would be the best possible result for Switzerland. Brazil arguably has the most talented attacking line in the entire tournament and I don’t believe they will disappoint on Sunday.

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What do you think the outcome of this game will be?

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