Five-time champions Brazil and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal joined France in the knockout rounds with a game to spare on a dramatic day of action in Qatar on Monday.
Deprived of Neymar by injury, Brazil struggled to find a way through a typical disciplined Switzerland defence, Vinicius Junior having the best chance of the opening period when he drifted into space at the far post only to fail to connect properly with Raphinha’s cross, allowing Yann Sommer to save.
Brazil had been frustrated by the Swiss side at Doha’s Stadium 947 and it looked as if they would have to settle for a point after a Vinicius Junior goal in the second half was disallowed for offside following a VAR ckeck.
But then, with seven minutes left in the game, Bruno Guimaraes flicked the ball to Casemero inside the box and the Manchester United midfielder’s volley flew into the net with the help of a slight but significant deflection off Manuel Akanji.
“The first aim was to qualify. That was really important in a group as difficult as ours,” the 30-year-old Casemero told Brazilian broadcaster SporTV.
Tite’s Brazil kicked off their campaign in Qatar with a 2-0 victory over Serbia but Paris Saint Germain forward limped off with an ankle injury.
Brazil joins France and Portugal in the last 16 as both teams won their matches to book their spots closer to reaching the World Cup final.
With six points Brazil will be tempted to rest players for their final Group G game against Cameroon on Friday, where a draw will be enough to secure them the top spot into the knockout round.
Meanwhile, Switzerland is still on court to qualify after Cameroon and Serbia played a 3-3 draw. This means that Cameroon would have to beat Brazil to qualify into the last 16.
Source: The Sporting News, SuperSport, Eyewitness News, image from Twitter: @ManUtd