World Cup day 5 – LIVE: Brazil leading Serbia; Portugal see off Ghana; Switzerland win; Uruguay held
It’s the final day of the first round of fixtures at the World Cup.
Every team will have played their first group game by the end of Thursday’s action, with Uruguay, South Korea, Serbia, Ghana, Switzerland and Cameroon the other countries in action.
Argentina and Germany have already slumped to surprise losses against Saudi Arabia and Japan respectively, while Spain recorded their biggest-ever World Cup win – a 7-0 thrashing of Costa Rica.
Follow below for updates on day five.
It’s that man again!
What a goal this is from Richarlison, who hits a glorious overhead kick which rockets into the back of the net.
Brazil are ahead!
It’s Richarlison who’s celebrating after tapping in the rebound from a Vinicius Junior shot.
60′ – Off the post!
Alex Sandro sends a fierce effort crashing in from range which thundered back off the post.
55′ – Chance for Brazil
Brazil are knocking on the door here and Neymar has wasted a good chance to open the scoring, slashing a strike well wide of the post.
It’s been all Brazil here but the Selecao had a tough time of things getting through Serbia’s defence and will undoubtedly need to step things up after the break.
41′ – Vinicius miss
A mistake from Milenkovic sees Vinicius get a rare sight of goal but the Brazilian completely fluffs his lines and slashes the ball wide. The story of the first half for Brazil.
35′ – Chance for Brazil
Raphinha gets an inch of space in the box but his effort on goal is far too tame and gleefully swept up by the goalkeeper.
31′ – Brazil searching for a way through
For all Brazil’s dominance here, Milinkovic-Savic hasn’t been tested too much in the Serbia goal.
The pre-tournament favourites look like they still have a gear or two left in the tank, however.
25′ – Rare attack from Serbia
Serbia have been doing a lot of defending here but they get a rare look at the Brazil goal with a cross towards Mitrovic that leads to nothing.
18′ – Brazil pressure
It’s been all Brazil so far, with the Selecao coming close directly from a corner as Neymar looked to catch out Vanja Milinkovic-Savic.
Brazil: Alisson, Danilo, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Alex Sandro, Casemiro, Paqueta, Neymar, Raphinha, Richarlison, Vinicius Jr.
Serbia: Milinkovic-Savic, Pavlovic, Milenkovic, Veljkovic, Gudelj, Zivkovic, Lukic, Mladenovic, A. Mitrovic, Tadic, Milinkovic-Savic.
Portugal got their campaign off to a nice start with a 3-2 victory over Ghana that ended up being a thoroughly entertaining affair.
Fernando Santos‘ side were the top team in the first half but their slow pay rarely yielded any results, although Cristiano Ronaldo did have a goal ruled out for a foul. With only two minutes of stoppage time after the first 45, you can tell it wasn’t particularly eventful.
A tale of two halves
Fortunately for the neutrals, the game came into life in the second half and Ronaldo opened the scoring from the penalty spot on the hour mark, but their lead lasted just eight minutes as Andre Ayew tapped in from close range to tie things up.
Parity was even briefer as Joao Felix netted down the other end almost straight after, and then Rafael Leao added a third almost straight after. It looked as though the fun was over, but far from it.
Osman Bukari netted a late header and Ghana nearly snatched an unbelievable equaliser right at the end of stoppage time as Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa threw the ball to the ground to line up a kick… without realising Inaki Williams was waiting behind him.
Williams snatched the ball and looked set to tap home one of the most outrageous World Cup goals ever, only to slip and end up losing possession.
Uruguay and South Korea went head to head in an entertaining game in the first Group H fixture of this World Cup, a clash that was played at a good tempo and fiercely competitive.
There were actually no shots on target during the 90 minutes, the first time that has happened in a World Cup game this century – the previous lowest was two when Portugal and Ivory Coast drew 0-0 back in 2010. However, Uruguay did strike the woodwork multiple times.
The Uruguay mantle is passing
With a glittering career mostly behind him, Luis Suarez looked every bit a player who will shortly turn 36. The veteran has been playing club football back in Uruguay for the past few months and looked significantly off the pace, struggling to press and hold the ball up.
Edinson Cavani, not quite as old as Suarez, was a noticeable upgrade in the second half.
Conversely, Darwin Nunez had a decent game. The 23-year-old Liverpool forward moved well and took up good positions. Diego Alonso potentially has a decision to make ahead of facing Portugal.
Switzerland made the perfect start to their World Cup campaign with a 1-0 win over Cameroon.
There were half-chances at both ends in the opening 30 minutes with Switzerland dominating possession but Cameroon being a big threat on the counter-attack.
The decisive goal came just a couple of minutes into the second half, as Breel Embolo swept home Xherdan Shaqiri’s cross past the despairing Andre Onana.
Switzerland see off plucky Indomitable Lions
It was an entertaining game at Al Janoub Stadium as Switzerland and Cameroon both showed a willingness to attack.
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Martin Hongla had good chances saved by Yann Sommer in Switzerland’s goal, while Nico Elvedi flashed a header wide from a corner after Embolo had fluffed his lines when through one-on-one.
But after Manuel Akanji headed wide just before half-time, the Swiss caught Cameroon napping – Embolo sweeping home from Shaqiri’s byline cross.
Cameroon’s verve and energy faded as the game entered the latter stages, giving Switzerland the perfect start in a group that also contains tournament favourites Brazil and Serbia, who are backed by some to go far despite their dreadful record at recent World Cups.
Preview
The World Cup favourites and one of the most highly fancied dark horses go head to head in their opening match in Qatar with Brazil taking on Serbia.
As is often the case, Brazil head into the tournament as the bookies‘ top picks, being in excellent form and boasting an extremely strong squad that is expected to breeze through Group G.
Their first match won’t be an easy one, though, with Serbia’s class of 2022 being their best in a long time in regard to talent.
Prediction: Brazil 1-0 Serbia