Brazil showed glimpses of their potential, but they should have done better

Brazil

Argentina emerged as the champions of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. Fans and experts of the game dubbed the tournament one of the best World Cups of all time.

The event featured 32 teams, divided into eight groups. Among these divisions, Group G was interesting where Brazil, the giants of the football world, were placed alongside a strong Switzerland, Serbia and a promising African team, Cameroon.

Talking about Brazil, they have been the most successful football team in the history of FIFA World Cups, winning it on five occasions and being a part of the tournament in every single edition.

The Seleção won their last title 20 years ago, courtesy of Ronaldo Nazario’s brilliance and they were declared the favourites yet again to lift the trophy.

In every single edition of the FIFA World Cup since 1982, the five-time champions have topped their group and it was no surprise that they managed to do it once again.

Brazil started off their campaign with an emphatic 2-0 win against a resilient Serbia with the help of Richarlison’s excellent goals in 62 and 73 minutes of the game.

Next up, they had Switzerland lined up to face them. The Swiss side was impressive in the game and played equally well as Brazil.

It took all the experience and skills of the veteran Casemiro to net the ball in the 83rd minute of the match to give his side a 1-0 lead, which proved to be enough to seal the win.

In their final group game against the African giants, they suffered a surprise loss 1-0 when Vincent Aboubakar scored a goal in 90+2 minutes. However, Thiago Silva’s men had already done enough to qualify for the knockout stage.

In the Round of 16, they got face-to-face against South Korea and they completely dominated them.

As the first whistle blew, Brazil were on the charge. It took Vinicius Jr just seven minutes to open the account, while the lead was doubled in the 13th minute when Neymar converted a penalty into a goal. Richarlison scored third in the 29th minute and Lucas Paqueta added another to the tally in the 36th minute.

South Korea responded with one goal in the latter part of the second half, which did not make much of a difference, giving Brazil a 4-1 win to book their berth in the quart-finals.

In the last-eight match, the South American side had to face Croatia, the last edition’s runner-ups.

Croatia majorly focused on their defence, keeping Neymar and company away from their goal. The first 90 minutes ended without a goal.

As the game entered into extra time, Neymar scored a goal in 105+1 minutes. However, after scoring the goal, Brazil looked relaxed and lazy and Croatia took the advantage of it to score an equaliser in the 117th minute.

The game was stretched to penalties and this was where the former champions lost the plot and Luka Modric’s side prevailed.

Brazil showed glimpses of their potential during the tournament and they should have made it at least to the semi-finals but a few wrong moves cost them dearly.

Switzerland

Grade: C+

Switzerland had an impressive run under their belt when they reached Qatar. They had topped their qualifying group, losing no game and conceding only two goals. Moreover, they were also responsible for knocking France out of Euro 2020 earlier.

Having players like Xherdan Shaqiri, Fabian Schar, Manuel Akanji, Granit Xhaka, Denis Zakaria and veteran goalkeeper Yann Sommer must have boosted their confidence.

The Red Crosses had a decent beginning to their World Cup campaign, handing Cameroon a defeat 1-0.

In the next game, they faced the World Cup favourites Brazil and could not surpass them, conceding the first defeat of their campaign.

Serbia posed a stern challenge for the Swiss men in their last group match. Shaqiri gave his team an upper hand by scoring a goal in the 20th minute. However, the lead was nullified when Aleksander Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic scored two in 26 and 35, respectively.

Just nine minutes after conceding the second goal, Breel Embolo brought Switzerland back in the hunt by scoring the equaliser.

The score line did not remain level for long and in the 48th minute of the game, Remo Freuler scored the decisive goal in the match.

In the all-important Round of 16 match, they were up against Portugal, who had a promising run so far.

Switzerland were completely annihilated by Portugal, losing the game with a huge margin of 6-1.

Goncalo Ramos scored a hat-trick for his team, while Pepe, Raphael Guerreiro and Rafael Leao scored once. The only goal-scorer from the Swiss side was Manuel Akanji.

Overall, Switzerland played decent football throughout their campaign, apart from their game against Portugal.

Serbia

Grade: B-

Serbia did not have a memorable time since the last World Cup in Russia. They were eliminated in the first round. Their disappointment was followed by failure to qualify for the Euro 2020. However, they bounced back, going unbeaten for eight games, and topped the qualifying group that also had a team like Portugal.

Despite having an impressive run in the qualifying round, Serbia could not make it into the knockouts.

They started their campaign against the tournament favourites Brazil and lost the contest 2-0. They had a fabulous game against the African giants, drawing it 3-3.

They were trailing in the contest till Strahinja Pavlovic scored an equaliser in 45+1 minutes. It was followed by another goal from Sergej Milinkovic in 45+3 minutes. They were cruising towards the win, courtesy of Aleksander Mitrovic’s goal in the 53rd minute, but Cameroon made struck back and scored two goals in quick succession to draw the match.

They were once again remarkable against a much-stronger Swiss team, where they managed a lead of 2-1, yet allowed the opposition to score two quick goals in the second half to lose the game 3-2.

Seeing the outcomes of The Eagles, they had a good attack, but their fragile defence cost them heavily during their campaign.

Cameroon

Grade: B

Cameroon were making their eighth World Cup appearance in Qatar and were a force to reckon with. They were hoping to replicate their success from the World Cup 1990, where they qualified for the quarter-finals with their current manager, Rigobert Song, a part of their squad.

Cameroon had finished third in the Africa Cup and were identified as the dark horse in the group.

They did not disappoint their fans as they put up a decent show in the tournament.

In their first game of the event, they took on Switzerland and just marginally lost the game 1-0. Overall, the Indomitable Lions dominated their opponents in terms of shots on target, maintaining ball possession at 49 percent.

In the next game, they played their hearts out and made an incredible comeback against Serbia. From being down to 3-1, they bounced back to draw the contest 3-3.

In their final outing of the tournament, they surprised everyone when they knocked down the favourites 1-0, by scoring a goal in the 90+2 minutes of the game.

Cameroon could not advance to the next stage, but the way they played was quite impressive.