Casemeiro scored the winner to help Brazil produce one of the narrow World Cup scores of the weekend action despite Neymar’s absence. The five-time champions strained for significant stretches of the game as they failed to break down their Group G opponents’ tenacious defensive setup with Neymar out due to an ankle injury. Vinicius Jr. appeared to be the most likely to score; however, VAR disallowed his goal in the second half because Richarlison had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, Casemiro scored with just seven of the 90 seconds left on the clock after latching onto Rodrygo’s deft flip from Vinicius’ pass inside and getting a slight assist from Manuel Akanji.
The conservative tactics of Brazil coach Tite have in the past drawn criticism, so his choice to start Fred instead of Neymar was a curious one and one that would have drawn attention to him had his team lost. They were clearly not at their most effective in the first half when all they could muster was a poor shot on goal from Raphinha and a chance for Vinicius at the back post, who failed to connect with the cross cleanly.
While Brazil suddenly seemed vulnerable early in the second half, Alex Sandro dove in to make a desperation block from Silvan Widmer’s cross. With their focus on defense, Switzerland offered little in attack at the other end and failed to land a shot on target throughout the 90 minutes. The odd match-winner, though, was Casemiro, a defensive midfielder who scored just six goals in 67 international games, after a surprising burst of speed and ability from Vinicius and Rodrygo. For those two attackers, late opportunities came and passed, but in the end, Brazil only needed one goal. Although it wasn’t attractive, it did the job.
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