Five times World Champion Brazil were held to a 1-1 draw by a feisty Swiss side. Brazilian sensation Philppe Coutinho put his team ahead on the 20th minute with a superb curling shot which hit the post before nestling into the net. The Brazil team dominated the first half with majority of possession and countless attacks . The second half was a different story altogether as a determined Swiss side equalized from a brilliant headed goal by Steven Zuber from a flag kick by Shaqiri. The Swiss side tried to take a firm grip on the game henceforth. A wounded Brazil team desperately attempted to win the game in the dying moments of the match but a resilient Swiss defense thwarted them. A draw between the two teams leaves them both behind Serbia in the group. A slip-up in the next game can send either of the teams out of the tournament. Now let’s see the hits and misses from the Brazil and Switzerland match.
Hits:
Xherdan Shaqiri(Switzerland)- As expected Shaqiri was the primary source of all Swiss attacks. He brilliant ball control helped his team on and off the ball and created immense pressure on Brazilian defense going forward. He had 1 assist,3 key passes and 77% pass accuracy in the game. He also made 3 crucial tackles in the match. Rating-8/10
Philippe Coutinho(Brazil)- Tite used him in an unusual deep-lying midfield play-maker position, where he adeptly linked up with Neymar and Marcelo. His splendid curling effort which gave Brazil the lead will live long in our memories. He was the best Brazilian player by all means. His creativity in the midfield shall help Brazil going forward in the tournament. He pass accuracy was almost a staggering 90%. Rating-7.5/10
Manuel Akanji(Switzerland)- The 22 year old Borussia Dortmund centre back had a brilliant game. He handled Neymar and Gabriel Jesus superbly and gave them no time on the ball. He looked extremely confident at the back and even had the courage to go on up to help his team. He amazingly won all the one to one duels with the Brazilian players. He had 4 successful tackles and his pass accuracy rate was over 85%. Rating-7.5/10
Misses:
Paulinho(Brazil)- The Barcelona man had a game to forget. He missed a golden opportunity early in the game when his feeble shot was brlliantly saved by Sommer. He did very little going forward and was frequently dribbled past by the Swiss players. Although he had a high passing accuracy but most of them were ineffective. He had no key passes,crosses and long balls to his credit.Rating-4/10
Gabriel Jesus(Brazil)- Jesus struggled through the entire match. He tried to make a few good runs initially but was bundled out quickly by the physical presence of Akanji. He was lost in the opponent’s penalty box and had only one shot in the entire match which was off target. The passing was not up to the mark as well. His pass accuracy was almost less than 55%. Rating-4/10
Neymar(Brazil)- Neymar tried to make things happen but he was doubled up brilliantly by the Swiss team and his forward runs were easily dealt with. The Swiss did their home work very well and bottled him up. As usual Neymar tried to do things too much himself which affected the team badly going forward. Although he made 4 key passes and 5 dribbles, his selfish play affected the harmony of the team. Brazil coach Tite needs to address this in the dressing room fast or Brazil team will soon be watching the World Cup from their hotel rooms. Rating-5/10
Wonderful analysis Nawab, keep up the good work. Kudos!
Thank u Bidisha…Good to hear from u after a long time…TC…