World Cup 2018: Brazil disappoint; held to 1-1 draw by Switzerland

It is not the Samba beat but Swiss cowbells that will play all night after Switzerland held former champions Brazil to 1-1 draw at the Rostov Arena on Sunday.

Steven Zuber equalised for the Swiss from a Xherdan Shaqiri corner after the entire Brazilian defence had gone off to sleep, keeping the Hoffenheim star unmarked and he made no mistake, leaving goalkeeper Alisson Becker stranded in the 50th minute. But before that Philippe Coutinho had lighted up the Rostov Arena with a sensational strike from just outside the box.

The goal for Brazil came in the 20th minute and was after Neymar’s cross from the left was only half-cleared. It felt to the former Liverpool midfielder and he did what he always does from that position-score. Until then the five time champions had controlled the tempo of the game as the Swiss pegged back into their own-half often resorting to fouls, to break the opposition’s attacks.

But just as Argentina against Iceland on the other night, Brazil’s main obstacle was not freeing up Neymar. Every time the PSG star touched the ball, he had two defenders ready to take him down and although Coutinho managed a goal after receiving a half-cleared ball, it was never going to be easy against the ‘Rossocrociati’, who protected their lines in packs.

Equally to blame was the lacklustre attitude of the ‘Selecao’ boys, who perhaps thought it would be a walk in the park instead ended up hitting against a wall. Paulinho had a great chance in the opening minutes to score but Yann Sommer pulled out a good save.

Switzerland on the other had a shot as early as the third minute, but waited for another 40 for their next. Most of their attacks builded up either from Granit Xhaka’s long balls or Shaqiri’s clever runs on the right. They had just two shots on target and converted one of them into a goal.

This was just the fourth goal Brazil conceded in 12 competitive matches, still they look defensively fragile against teams like Switzerland that concentrates more on positions. The Samba boys did have their fair chances going all-out in the final 10 minutes but Switzerland held on to salvage a point. Roberto Firmino and Renato Augusto both substitutes came close in the dying stages, however they failed to keep their shots on target.

The draw also meant that this was the first time since 1978 (when they drew against Sweden) that Brazil, has failed to win their opening match at the World Cup. They next play Costa Rica on June 22 and will surely need a turnaround to scrap through to the knockout stages.