Brasil v Switzerland: Seleção looking to dance into the knockouts
When discussing the standout moments of the FIFA World Cup so far, it doesn’t take long for the conversation to steer towards the magical goals, courtesy of Richarlison’s second goal against Serbia.
Monday’s matchup at Stadium 974 looks to be another golden opportunity for Brazil’s top striker in 2022. However, he will have to play without their talisman, Neymar who has been ruled out after picking up an injury in round 1.
“As our professor Tite has said ‘I am smelling goals’!” Richarlison said.
Neymar is not the only big name to pick up an injury in their opener against Serbia. Defender, Danilo went down and will likely not take part against the Swiss.
Murat Yakin’s team survived the Cameroon victory largely unscathed and winger, Renato Steffen is likely to be only major absentee from the starting lineup.
Brazil will likely face a greater challenge trying to break down Switzerland’s defences. La Nati kept the charismatic Cameroonians out of the goal despite their eight shots during the match.
Keeper, Yann Sommer will be key for Switzerland in this game. He was one of Europe’s top players coming into this tournament but the South American flare will provide something new to contend with.
Despite’s Switzerland’s ability to win games with low possession statistics, particularly through their qualifying games, they are going to have to be more creative and more accurate against one of the footballing powerhouses.
With 23 shots from Brazil against Serbia, Switzerland cannot afford to sit back and wait for a breakaway opportunity to come their way.
Regardless of the injury to Neymar, Brazil will still be confident of victory. They have plenty of talent in all phases of the game and their bench is loaded. With individuals such as Bruno Guimaraes, Casemiro and Lucas Paqueta likely to be named as starters, La Nati will struggle to compete with this team from Brazil.
