With seven minutes left, Casemiro scored his first World Cup goal in a loud Stadium 974 to overcome Switzerland’s resistance and secure Brazil’s spot in the Round of 16.
The Swiss team played well defensively, frustrating the five-time world champions, but they finally broke through in the 83rd minute when Casemiro scored the game-winning goal from inside the box.
Brazil continues to lead Group G, and they are the second country to advance to the knockout stages after World Cup champion France, who did so with a victory over Denmark on Saturday.
The rational performances of both Brazil and Switzerland during the first half left Stadium 974’s spectators feeling somewhat subdued after 11 goals had been scored in the first two World Cup games played on Monday, which include six in the thrilling 3-3 draw among Cameroon and Serbia.
The best opportunity of the opening 45 minutes was created by Vinicius Junior in the 26th minute when he perfectly timed his run at the back post to reach a lovely curling cross from Raphinha on the right. However, the Real Madrid winger scuffed his side-footed effort, and Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer was there to parry the ball out for a corner.
In less than five minutes after sprinting toward a loose ball in the middle of the field, Raphinha decided to unleash an audacious 35-yard strike, but Sommer easily saved Sommer’s sweet strike.
Throughout the majority of the first half, Switzerland stayed in their defensive positions. Their only real opportunity came six minutes before the break when Ruben Vargas nearly turned Thiago Silva inside the box before Alisson Becker closed him down to scoop up the ball on the six-yard line.
Momentarily, the stadium lights dimmed as Raphinha whipped a tempting corner into the danger area two minutes before the break, but Sommer’s right fist blocked it.
At halftime, in response to his team’s laborious first-half performance, Tite substituted Rodrygo for Lucas Paqueta. Rodrygo played in an advanced position behind Richarlison, the team’s central striker.
In the first 45 minutes, Brazil’s defence was hardly put to the test, but early in the second half, desperate defending was necessary. Vinicius Junior, of all players, tracked back to make a crucial block inside the penalty box to stop Djibril Sow from hitting the target.
Before Breel Embolo nearly intercepted Alisson’s pass moments later, Richarlison of Brazil narrowly missed a gorgeous cross from Vinicius Junior with outside of his right boot just before the hour mark.
In the absence of injured Selecao star Neymar, Vinicius Junior was the one who stepped up the most for Brazil. The 22-year-old thought he had opened the scoring in the 64th minute when he calmly finished past Sommer and into the bottom-right corner.
However, the goal was overturned by VAR because Richarlison was caught offside during the buildup, putting an end to Brazil’s celebrations. With just seven minutes left, Casemiro of Manchester United, who had been set up by Rodrygo just inside the area on the left channel, scored a sweet goal that deflected into the top-right corner to defeat Switzerland, who deserve credit for their defensive performance.
In the group stage of the World Cup, Brazil is the first country to have gone 17 games without losing. This streak started in 2002, when they last held the biggest football trophy in the world.
Tite and company will now focus on their upcoming match against Cameroon on Friday. Cameroon and Serbia earlier on Monday played to a thrilling 3-3 draw.
Brazil manages to advance to the round of 16 despite playing far below their best in the final match. Seven minutes from the end, Casemiro scores a thunderous goal to give them all three points after Vinicius’ earlier goal was disallowed for offside in the buildup. Going forward, Switzerland did pose a threat, but Brazil managed to hold them off fairly easily, and eventually their superiority in the final third paid off as Casemiro slammed home the winning goal. The Selecao are safe and sound in the knockout rounds, whereas Switzerland still has a game against Serbia to play in order to join them.
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