Fifa World Cup 2018: Resilient Switzerland frustrate Brazil in 1-1 draw

Tonight's draw is a cracking result for Switzerland and will give them a huge confidence boost as they try to qualify for the knockout stages whereas Brazil needs to sort out its defence

Brazil failed to take home three match points as they settle for a draw from a bruising encounter with Switzerland. In a night not so great for the footballing giants, the Alps nation showed nerves of steel and succeeded in stopping a star-studded side to a 1-1 draw. The credits of the night should go to Petkovic’s men, as they managed to come back from a goal deficit to secure a well-deserved match point.

The Group E encounter was scattered with a host of physical challenges as Switzerland displayed some gritty defending against the 5-time World Champions. Neymar alone was fouled 10 times (the highest number of fouls against a player in World Cup since 1998) with veteran midfielder Behrami ona charge of bottling the PSG star.

Trivia: The last player to be fouled more in a WorldCup game than Neymar v Switzerland (10) was Alan Shearer in 1998 (11 v Tunisia).

The first half of Brazil vs Switzerland match was a game that moved from box-to-box. The alpine nation’s defence was giving a hard time to the star studded Brazil squad. Although both the sides had equal ball possession the Latin Americans seemed to have the better of the Swiss side, as Neymar & Co managed to dominate the flow with Petkovic’s men looking for counter-attacking chances.

Coutinho opened the deadlock on the 20th minute with his sensational goal. After collecting possession from a rebound, the former Liverpool man opened up his body and curled the ball into the far corner of the Switzerland goal. Sommer had no chance to save the ball from going into the net off the side post. The breathtaking strike lit up the newly built Rostov Arena and seemed it was Brazil’s day after all!

Unsurprisingly, a determined Switzerland came back in the second half under the leadership of the new Arsenal man Lichtsteiner, who made the Brazillian attack toothless.

The attacking trio of Neymar, Jesus and Coutinho struggled a lot to get it past the attacking third. Switzerland was making in ways to the Brazil defence with counter-attacks. One such counter-attacks resulted into a corner and an unmarked Steven Zuber scored from the corner at 49 minute

Brazil's no. 3 Miranda left the Swiss Winger unmarked who put the ball into the back of the net. The Brazilian players alleged that their was a push by Zuber but the referee righteously played down their allegations.

The Latin American defence fell like a house of cards as they conceded the 11th goal Brazil in their last three World Cup matches. It's a record that won't improve with the kind of sloppy marking that allowed Steven Zuber to sneak in unmarked for that simple headed finish.

Tite's men had enough opportunities towards the end of the game. A fine downward header was parried clear by Sommer as Brazil frantically chased a late winner. The Swiss defence and the Switzerland goalkeeper made sure that the score stays level as they staged for another upset at Rostov Arena.

Serbia lead the Group E standings with their win against Costa Rica but Brazil’s squad has enough depth to make it to the next stage. France, Argentina and Germany have all struggled in their opening games and there are still two games left for the Selecaos to find their foot.

For all the disheartened Brazil fans, The Swiss tend to be strong starters at World Cups and struggling against them doesn't always spell doom. Spain fared even worse in 2010 after all, and the world knows how that story ended.

Group E Match: Brazil vs Switzerland Updates:

83 min:  Brazil seem to running out of ideas although they are attacking because of the Swiss defence.

65 min: Yellow card for Schar as he pulls Neymar's shirt and goes for a little ride before the referee finally pulls him up.

50 min: Steven Zuber has scored the equiliser with an assist from Xherdan Shaqiri.

Trivia: Steven Zuber has been directly involved in six goals in his last six international starts for Switzerland (4 goals, 2 assists). 

Stephen Zuber. (Photo: @FifaWolrdCup twitter)

Half Time report: The fresh, vibrant, free flowing football of Brazil is back.

The first half of the Brazil vs Switzerland match has been a game that moved from box-to-box. The alpine nation has been more or less successful in putting up a fight against a star studded Brazil squad. Although both the sides have equal ball possession the New Brazil seem to have the better of the Swiss side, as the Neymar & Co manage to dominate flow of the match.

Both the sides have taken fair amount of shots towards the goal, but the Brazilians seem to lead the chart with 4 attempts with Coutinho converting one of the chances into a beautifully crafted goal.

The Barca player lit up the Rostov Arena on the 20th minute with his sensational goal. After collecting possession, the former Liverpool man opened up his body and curled the ball into the far corner of the Switzerland goal. Sommer had no chance to save the ball from going into the net off the side post. Simply Breathtaking!

Unsurprisingly, Switzerland is trying to fight back and make the scores level and has been successful to stop Brazil from increasing the lead. The New Arsenal man Lichtsteiner and experienced midfielder Behrami has been giving a tough time to the likes of Neymar, Coutinho and Gabriel Jesus. 

Updates:

45min + 3min: Half-Time - Brazil 1-0 Switzerland.

31 min: New Arsenal signing Lichtsteiner is the first man into the book after he concedes a free-kick after clipping Neymar.

20 min: Coutinho scores a screamer. Brazil 1-0 Switzerland. Rostov Arena is lit with a simply sensational shot.

11 min: Huge chance for Brazil as they pick their way through the Switzerland defence and Paulinho does make his way into the box. Neymar twist and finds him but Paulinho gets the ball caught under his feet and misses.

Trivia: Brazil have won 16 of their last 18 opening games at the World Cup (D2). The last time they lost their first game in the tournament was in 1934 against Spain (1-3). 

Since 1966, Brazil have scored 37 goals from outside the box at the World Cup; 11 more than any other team. 

Coutinho. (Photo: @FIFAWorldCup Twitter)

Lineup: 

Brazil Starting XI (4-3-3): Alisson, Danilo, Thiago Silva, Miranda, Marcelo (c), Paulinho, Casemiro, Coutinho, Willian, Gabriel Jesus, Neymar.

Switzerland Starting XI (4-3-2-1): Yann Sommer, Stephan Lichtsteiner (c), Fabian Schar, Manuel Akanji, Ricardo Rodriguez, Valon Behrami, Granit Xhaka, Xherdan Shaqiri, Blerim Dzemaili, Steven Zuber, Haris Seferovic.
 

Switzerland SUBS: Josip Domic, Breel Embolo, Johan Djourou, Francois Moubandje, Denis Zakaria, Gelson Fernandes, Michael Lang, Yvon Mvogo, Remo Freuler, Mario Gavranovic, Nico Elvedi, Roman Burki.

Brazil SUBS: Ederson, Douglas Costa, Geromel, Taison, Roberto Firmino, Cassio, Marquinhos, Renato Augusto, Fagner, Filipe Luis, Fernandinho.

The lineups are out: 

Time: 530 PM

FIFA World Cup 2018 Brazil vs Switzerland match will take place on Sunday, June 17, 2018, at 11.30 PM 

Brazil vs Switzerland will be broadcast on Sony Ten 2, Sony Ten 2 HD, Sony ESPN, Sony ESPN HD in English Commentary and Sony Ten 3 and Sony 3 HD in Hindi Commentary.

Brazil vs Switzerland match will be available for live streaming on Sony Liv. And Both Airtel and Jio would broadcast the FIFA World Cup 2018 matches for free to their respective subscribers

Preview: The Rostov Arena will provide a spectacular setting for the second match in Group E at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, which pits tournament favourites Brazil against Switzerland, who are the only side in history to have beaten eventual World Cup champions in their opening match.

Brazil Squad: Brazil will be under test when they kick off their campaign against Switzerland here on Sunday.

The Brazilians travel to Russia following a convincing 3-0 victory against Austria a week ago as Neymar banished any doubts about the injury which brought his campaign with Paris Saint Germain to a premature end.

Against Austria, Tite used Chelsea forward Willian to accompany Neymar, Gabriel Jesus and Coutinho. Willian will probably start again here, leaving Tite to decide whether Fernandinho or Paulinho partners Casemiro in central midfield.

Marcelo will provide attacking flair from left back, while Dani Alves' injury means Danilo will be given the chance on the right. Meanwhile, everything points to Thiago Silva partnering Joao Miranda in central defence, with Marquinhos likely to miss out, and Allison in goal amid rumours of a move from AS Roma to Real Madrid.

Switzerland squad: The Swiss were slightly unlucky to finish behind Portugal in their qualifying group but are currently sixth in the FIFA world rankings with coach Vladimir Petkovic forging a united squad from a group of players from a host of different ethnic backgrounds.

switzerland football team

Petkovic stressed the importance of unity among his players when he said that although he hadn't selected the most talented 23 Swiss players to go to Russia, he had chosen "the best squad".

Their results coming into the tournament have also been good, with a 2-0 win over Japan following a battling 1-1 draw away to Spain on June 3.

The Spain match showed the Swiss can soak up a lot of pressure and keep their shape when they don't have the ball, which will be important too on Sunday.

Fabian Schar and Manuel Akanji are likely to play in central defence and there is a chance Johan Djourou could also start.

Stephen Lichtsteiner and Ricardo Rodriguez, who goes into the match with two goals in two games, will be the full backs with Granit Xhaka and Valon Behrami in midfield, while up front Xherdan Shakiri and Breel Embolo will provide pace on the break.

If the Swiss can hang on until halftime they have a chance of springing a surprise, but if Brazil take an early lead it could be a matter of the Swiss hanging on to ensure their goal difference doesn't take a battering ahead of more accessible rivals such as Serbia and Mexico.

Switzerland head coach Vladimir Petkovic said on Saturday that Brazil's star striker Neymar was "an exceptional player" and it would be "difficult to hold him back" during Sunday's Group E of the ongoing FIFA World Cup.

Switzerland coach on Neymar: "Of course Neymar is an exceptional player. It is difficult to hold him back throughout an entire match. Along with Cristiano Ronaldo, he is one of the strongest players in the world. We have to prepare mentally to play against such strong players," Petkovic told journalists, reports Sputnik news agency.

He added that Switzerland aimed to not only show a "good game" but to win the match as well.

Prediction
 

So much for the unpredictable nature of the beautiful game. Goldman Sachs Group Inc reckons Brazil will win its sixth World Cup, basing its forecast on data mining, machine learning and econometrics.

Here is the full list of Brazil's 23-member provisional squad:

Goalkeepers: Alisson, Ederson, Cassio 

Defenders: Miranda, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Marcelo, Filipe Luis, Fagner, Pedro Geromel, Danilo

Midfielders: Casemiro, Fernandinho, Paulinho, Renato Augusto, Philippe Coutinho, Willian, Fred

Forwards: Gabriel Jesus, Roberto Firmino, Douglas Costa, Neymar, Taison 

Here is the 23-member squad of Switzerland:

Goalkeepers: Roman Buerki, Yvon Mvogo, Yann Sommer.

Defenders: Manuel Akanji, Johan Djourou, Nico Elvedi, Michael Lang, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Jacques-Francois Moubandje, Ricardo Rodriguez, Fabian Schaer

Midfielders: Valon Behrami, Blerim Dzemaili, Gelson Fernandes, Remo Freuler, Xherdan Shaqiri, Granit Xhaka, Steven Zuber, Denis Zakaria.

Forwards: Josip Drmic, Breel Embolo, Mario Gavranovic, Haris Seferovic.