Add Brazil to the list of World Cup contenders that ran into a roadblock in the opening match of the tournament. After Argentina failed to beat Iceland and Germany lost to Mexico, Brazil, one of the tournament favorites, drew Switzerland 1-1 on Sunday despite creating a boatload of chances to secure three points. The South Americans had 20 shots but could only put four on frame, seeing the Swiss hold them in the second half to split one point apiece.
Switzerland played physical, fouled plenty to try and slow down Brazil’s rhythm, and it earned a surprising result that puts them in a great spot moving forward. The match was pretty much all Brazil from the beginning, but outside of its lone goal, the ball just didn’t want to go in.
Philippe Coutinho opened the scoring for the five-time champs with this stunning signature curler in the first half:But then Steven Zuber brought the underdogs level in the second half just minutes in, heading home but also pushing Miranda in the process. No foul was given, and the goal was awarded.
From then on, it was all Brazil with Switzerland defending with 10 behind the ball, trying to keep the game level. Yann Sommer made some big stops in the final 20 minutes, but Brazil was also wasteful. Miranda looked to have won the game for Brazil late with this effort, but he failed to put it on frame.
It’s a fantastic, golden point for Switzerland. It surely thought it would probably get nothing out of this game. As for Brazil, it puts the team in an uncomfortable, yet manageable spot moving forward. Serbia leads the group with three points, Brazil and Switzerland have one and Costa Rica has zero.
