World Cup: Casemiro’s stunner downs Switzerland to take Brazil into last 16

DOHA – Both injured Brazil star Neymar and coach Tite hailed defensive midfielder Casemiro after his sumptuous strike at Stadium 974 earned the Selecao a 1-0 victory over Switzerland and their ticket to the knockout stages.

Brazil went into the match missing their talisman due to an ankle strain, but were still confident in their much-vaunted attack to get the job done. However, after 83 frustrating minutes of sloppy passing and directionless play against a very organised and compact Swiss outfit, it came down to a moment of magic from the Manchester United enforcer.

Casemiro struck a volley from a flick on from Rodrygo with the outside of his foot and it glided – in time-honoured Brazilian fashion – past Yann Sommer in goal, as Brazil became the only side apart from the holders France to have won both group matches so far in Qatar.

The Man-of-the-match performance met with glowing compliments, when Neymar tweeted: “Casemiro has been the best midfielder in the world for a long time.”

Tite was asked if he agreed with that sentiment and the 61-year-old, who played as a midfielder himself, responded: I always respect other opinions and I usually don’t comment on them, but I’ll allow myself to do so today – I agree.”

Casemiro smiled as he spoke about the win and the goal, but he was in no hurry to take all the credit for himself.

“It is very clear that my very first objective is to support the team... to put out fires wherever they may be. But nevertheless, if there is an opportunity to take a little shot on goal, that’s very important,” the 30-year-old said.

“Regardless of the goal scored, it’s very important to have helped the team. When we win, we all win together, when we lose, we all lose together.”

There was another positive takeaway from the game as the five-time world champions appear to have found a new talisman in Vinicius Jr.

The 22-year-old Real Madrid prodigy was the best player on the pitch, creating most of Brazil’s chances and drawing the attention of three Swiss defenders in the build-up to the winner, leaving Casemiro wide open in the box to score. He also has a goal ruled out by VAR for offside.

The Selecao were always going to miss Neymar and, after the class of Richarlison made the difference in their opening win over Serbia, this was a reminder for the Brazilians of the strength in depth at their disposal.

Tite applauded his team’s ability to cope without their influential No. 10.

“Neymar has different characteristics and a certain magic... but we have other players who are able to step up when they are needed,” he said.

“The result today reflects a process that has been four years in the making. That’s what made the difference today. It has taken four years for our players to feel at ease in the national team and each one of them is now making the most of their opportunities.”

Casemiro also believes Brazil are a more complete team now than in Russia 2018, where they crashed out in the quarter-finals. Apart from their plethora of attacking options, they also have a more experienced defence, who have yet to concede a single shot on target against them at these Finals and let in just five goals in 17 games in South American qualifying.

“Our defenders are more experienced and that is another match with a clean sheet, but it’s not just about Alisson or the back four, it starts from Richarlison up front. We have a wider range of options,” said the former Real Madrid star, who was one of the few survivors from a draw with Switzerland in the 2018 group stage.

Brazil next face Cameroon in their final group game, with options to experiment different tactics or rest players, something neither Switzerland nor Serbia will have in their clash.

Switzerland, on three points, will progress with a win against Serbia, while a draw would also be enough unless Cameroon pull off a shock win over Brazil, which would then mean goal difference would come into play.

“The game plan seemed to be working for a long time and we had control of the game,” Murat Yakin said of the Brazil match.

“It’s a disappointing outcome as we let it slip through our fingers. We lacked courage in attack to a certain extent. Congratulations to Brazil, but with a little more luck we could have done more. I can’t really blame the team, they did a good job today, and had good control over a very good Brazil team for some time.”

Looking ahead to their game against Serbia, who will need to win to have any chance of progress, Switzerland coach said: “We can be the dominant team and we’ve proven that in the past... You can’t send a team out saying a draw is enough. We need to try to win this game and we have the skills and quality to do so.” REUTERS, AFP