Brazil earned a 1-0 win over Switzerland at the Qatar World Cup on Monday, with Casemiro’s late strike securing three more points for the tournament favourites in Group G.
The Selecao impressed in their opening game, seeing off Serbia 2-0 thanks to a double from Tottenham striker Richarlison, whose second goal was a mesmerising bicycle kick.
Brazil and Richarlison failed to live up to rising expectations here, however, with the forward in particular turning in a sub-par showing against Switzerland, who beat Cameroon 1-0 last week but failed to build on that result.
Brazil, all the while, were tasked with maintaining momentum in the absence of their star man Neymar, who suffered an ankle injury in the victory against Serbia.
Here’s how Brazil’s players fared against Switzerland:
Alisson - 4
Came a long way from goal to make an early clearance, before giving away the ball with a misplaced pass seconds later. Was caught out while dawdling on the ball later on, too.
Eder Militao - 7
Showed good strength in individual battles and provided promising deliveries when he got farther up the right flank.
Thiago Silva - 6
Like his centre-back partner Marquinhos, was focused and solid without coming under sustained pressure.
Marquinhos - 6
Was not tasked with dealing with too much danger, but was alert and diligent throughout.
Alex Sandro - 6
Had less to do than Militao on the other side of Brazil’s defence, but made a crucial interception early in the second half to cut out a dangerous low cross.
Casemiro - 8
Was central as ever to Brazil’s possession and momentum. Supplied Vinicius Jr with a perfectly-weighted pass that would have gone down as an assist, had Richarlison not been offside in the build-up. Broke the deadlock on 82 minutes with a great, slashing finish.
Fred - 5
Marked Brazil’s only change, coming in for the injured Neymar, and was never going to do the same job as his nation’s talisman. Booked in the second half, before being taken off.
Lucas Paqueta - 6.5
Picked out Richarlison with a deft, outside-of-the-boot pass in the first half, and often looked his team’s best chance of carving a clear opening. It was therefore a tad surprising when he was hooked at half time.
Raphinha - 6.5
Whipped in a nasty delivery in the first half, one that was nearly turned in by Vinicius Jr at the back post. Provided plenty of neat touches and a lot of intent. Went off as Antony came on.
Vinicius Jr - 7
Vibrant as ever, and necessarily so in Neymar’s absence. Forced Sommer into a decent save while stretching at a back-post volley, then nearly teed up Richarlison with a terrific cross later on. Saw a composed strike disallowed for offside, due to interference from Richarlison.
Richarlison - 4
Touch wasn’t as sharp as it was against Serbia. It felt as if the ball wasn’t quite falling for the forward, but that was down to him most of the time. Cost Brazil a goal by straying offside in the lead-up to Vini Jr’s tidy finish. Made way for Gabriel Jesus.
SUBSTITUTES
Rodrygo - 7
Replaced Paqueta at the break and didn’t look an improvement – until providing a slick assist for Casemiro’s goal.
Bruno Guimaraes - 6
Came on for Fred and did look an improvement.
Antony - 7
Came on for Raphinha and looked very motivated. First contribution was a dangerous delivery from a free kick out wide.
Gabriel Jesus - 5
Replaced Richarlison but could not succeed where his teammate had also failed.
