World Cup Group G: Brazil beat Switzerland 1-0 to clinch spot in knockout rounds

World Cup: Brazil gets needed 1-0 win to book spot in round of 16

Matchday 2 of the World Cup came today for Group G. As Cameroon forced a 3-3 draw against Serbia, Brazil got the job done with a 1-0 victory over Switzerland to clinch their spot in the knockout rounds.

Brazil were a bit shorthanded against the Swiss, not having Neymar and Danilo available due to them sustaining sprained ankles in the opening 2-0 win over Serbia.

Like the Serbs, Switzerland took a heavily defensive approach against Brazil’s offense, parking the bus to prevent them from creating any goalscoring opportunities.

Raphinha created the first shot on target in the 27th minute with a brilliant cross to Vinicius Jr., who was unable to score due to poor timing on his strike.

Raphinha kept himself involved in the offense by firing a shot in the 31st minute, which occurred outside Switzerland’s box and went into the hands of goalkeeper Yann Sommer.

Due to limited shot creation, Brazil subbed out Lucas Paqueta in favor of Rodrygo to start the second half. To continue balancing out the offense and midfield, Bruno Guimaraes, Antony, and Gabriel Jesus came on for Fred, Raphinha, and Richarlison later on in the half.

Vinicius Jr. initially broke the deadlock for Brazil in the 64th minute, slotting it home to the bottom-right corner of goal. However, due to an offside that took place prior, VAR canceled out the goal.

This did not matter for the Brazilians, maintaining their offensive aggression until Casemiro blasted his shot into the top-right corner of the net in the 83rd minute to give them the 1-0 lead they desperately needed.

Switzerland failed to respond at the offensive end, recording no shots on target as they were unable to stop the Brazil’s persistence in intercepting the ball and pushing it offensively in the final minutes.

On Friday, Brazil will play their last game in Group G against Cameroon while the Swiss fight to keep their hopes of advancing to the round of 16 alive with a win or draw against Serbia. Both matches will take place at 2:00 p.m. eastern time.