Brazil Class Shines Through at World Cup 2022
Brazil enjoyed a comfortable opening win in Qatar, but Neymar’s ankle injury would be a concern.
Brazil 2 Serbia 0 (Group G)
Brazil won this game over a disciplined Serbian side who made them work for it. Patience was the watchword for Brazil who kept moving their opponents around. They gradually wore them down with metronomic possession football. Serbia got to the break all square but once Brazil quickened the pace against a tiring outfit in the second half, they had no answer to them.
Richarlison registered his interest in the Golden Boot by scoring twice as Brazil completed a very satisfactory night’s work. The only concern was the early departure of Neymar with an ankle injury. If the golden boy ended up in a moon boot, then Brazil would need to avoid the implosion that came with his injury in 2014. That worry aside, they did plenty to reinforce their position as tournament favourites. Amid a first five days that have been anything but clear, at least that is something we can cling to.
Switzerland 1 Cameroon 0 (Group G)
Switzerland won their opening match with a very nicely worked goal against Cameroon. Embolo scored it just after the break. Having been born in Cameroon before moving as a six-year-old, he understandably chose not to go berserk and run towards the cameras. Instead he simply raised his arms in recognition.
The goal changed the game. Prior to that, Cameroon were by far the more threatening side. they really should have had a first-half lead. But as Canada underlined yesterday, shots at goal mean nothing if they don’t go in. The Swiss went from strength to strength thereafter. Perhaps they should have had more goals, though that would have been harsh on the African side. They gave plenty to the game and were worth a draw.
Tough path for Cameroon
As it was, with Brazil and Serbia still to come for Cameroon, qualification for them looked pretty tough now. Victory over Serbia in their next game was pretty much compulsory. The Swiss, on the other hand, looked a more than competent outfit in that second half. If they could maintain that standard in their last two games, they should come through.
Uruguay 0 Korea Rep 0 (Group H)
Uruguay and South Korea played out a 0-0. It was a slightly better game than the scoreline suggests. But again, the quality of finishing at this level of the game was dreadful. South Korea began well, but it was Uruguay who finished stronger.
They looked infinitely better for the replacement of Suarez, the once quicksilver striker looking as if, at the age of 35, this might be a World Cup too far. His legs were no longer as willing as they once were. As to his bite reflex, we had no opportunity to judge. Edison Cavani, at the same age, looked a more sprightly replacement. Though of course, he only had to get through half an hour.
The draw left both sides in the qualifying mix, which is of course the main aim from the first game, where defeat can so often be terminal.
Portugal 3 Ghana 2 (Group H)
Ghana could take some comfort from their 3-2 defeat against Portugal. The lowest-ranked side in the competition did enough to make Uruguay and South Korea take notice of them.
This decent game really came to life when Ronaldo, of course, opened the scoring on 65 minutes. He did celebrate, and he was entitled to. He became the first man to score in five separate World Cups. Portugal pulled a slightly tentative Ghana out of their shell. Taking advantage of some poor Portuguese defending (Cancelo had a night to forget) Andre Ayew had them level.
Tense finish for Portugal
The goal rather went to their heads, and having been commendably solid up to that point, all those defensive verities went out the window over a mad couple of minutes. Portugal twice sliced them open and seemingly put the game beyond them through Felix and Leao.
But there was more dismal Portuguese defending to follow in the final minute, Bukari reduced the arrears and made for a very uncomfortable nine added minutes. Danilo had to clear off the line in the final seconds after Williams picked the ‘keeper’s pocket. But Portugal got there in the end – though a late VAR penalty check might have differed on that. If they could sort out their defending, there were enough goals in the side to take them a long way.
Iran 2 Wales 0 (Group B)
Wales saw their World Cup hopes diminish after a dismal display against a rejuvenated Iran. They repeated the sluggish start to the US game, but this time could not raise a gallop in the second half either. Tactically, they got it wrong in the latter stages, too. They threw on more and more forwards at 0-0 to try and force a result. Given the way they were playing, they should have been grateful for the small mercy of taking a point.
Instead, they left themselves open. Then, goalkeeper Hennessey decided it was the right time to cosplay Harald Schumacher from the 1982 World Cup. He got himself sent off, and Wales were in deep trouble. Iran brilliantly exploited the remaining dozen minutes against ten men and were worthy 2-0 winners.
Senegal 3 Qatar 1 (Group A)
In Group A, Qatar became the first side to pack their bags for home. At least they didn’t have far to go. They officially became the worst team ever to host the World Cup. Their departure after just two games was all too predictable. With a game against the Netherlands to follow, would they draw a complete blank from their three games?
At least they were a little more sprightly than in their defeat to Ecuador. They did get on the scoresheet. In truth, it was a relatively straightforward victory for Senegal. That might have been different had Qatar been awarded a penalty with the scores at 0-0, but there was no VAR challenge to the referee’s decision. From there, Senegal began to exert real control of the game.
There were players of genuine quality in the Senegal side. The African champions had now given themselves the opportunity of progressing into the knock-out stages. A win over Ecuador in the final game would do the trick.
England 0 USA 0 (Group B)
For England in particular, it meant a draw was a very decent result that would all but see them qualify – and they played like it. There was none of the panache they’d brought to the Iran game, looking more than content to keep their clean sheet and hope something would break their way at the other end. It didn’t, but they were a little fortunate to get away with the 0-0. The USA quickly realised they had nothing to fear from England and were the more enterprising side, but ill luck and the England – rather than Manchester United – version of Maguire kept them at bay.
For England, the performance will resurrect those concerns that Southgate is more concerned with masking his side’s defensive weaknesses than playing to their attacking strengths. There’s something in that, though the England boss can quite rightly point to a semi-final and final in the last two tournaments as vindication.
The draw tonight puts that in jeopardy. Surely Wales will turn up at some stage at this World Cup, and the sight of England in that last game must get the blood coursing? The end of the tournament is likely to see the end of Bale and Ramsey among others and they won’t want to go out with a whimper. England should still have enough to see them off, but there is danger there.
For the USA, the equation is simple. A win over Iran sees them through. Nothing else is good enough. I think they would have taken that prior to the competition so in that sense, they are in a good place. Defensively they look sound and there is a nice shape to their attack, but there will be worries that the attacking edge isn’t sharp enough yet. Only one goal in two games is a concern, but I suspect they will finish alongside England on five points, qualifying second.
Netherlands 1 Ecuador 1 (Group A)
Enner Valencia finished Ecuador’s game with the Dutch on a stretcher, having scored his third goal of the tournament earlier in the game. The draw put them second, behind the Dutch on goal difference. Ecuador might well have won the game against an insipid Netherlands side. With the Dutch facing Qatar in the final game, it was hard to see them failing to win the group. Without Valencia, Ecuador might find it tough to get the point off Senegal that they would need to join them.