Brazil vs Switzerland: Five things we learned

Brazil took on Switzerland in their group opener, and the tournament heavyweights ended up finding things a lot tougher than expected. After seeing both Germany and Argentina fail to pick up a win against Mexico and Iceland respectively, the pressure was on the five-time World Cup winners to try to get a good result.

However, as we all know, football doesn’t follow a specific formula. And Switzerland clearly showed they intend to make a statement at this tournament. Let’s take a look at five main key points observed from Brazil surprise draw with Switzerland.

1.  Neymar needs more time to get up to speed…

Yes, he scored a beautiful goal against Croatia, weaving through their hapless defense before firing a shot into the roof of the net. That was his first return to action with the national squad after fracturing a bone in his foot in February. However, despite his obvious brilliance both for PSG and Brazil, he’s clearly not match fit. The fact that he was consistently fouled by the Swiss defense and midfield will certainly have contributed to his tentative showing, but nonetheless, as the game wore on, he rapidly grew in confidence.

He may not have scored, but in the second half he looked especially threatening for Brazil, and will certainly improve as the tournament goes on. However, news that he limped out of training will obviously raise alarm bells, as they need their star man in order to pick up as many points as possible against a stubborn Costa Rica and surprise group leaders Serbia.

2. …but his teammate Coutinho is showing he can step up, too

Although Neymar is obviously the star man for Brazil, the South American powerhouse are blessed with talent that will make many others green with envy. Coutinho is among those who clearly is a threat to any opposing side, and the Barcelona star proved just that with a brilliant strike to put Brazil 1-0 up. It was at Liverpool that he became a household name, and now he’s proven he can also shine under the glare of the biggest spotlights in world football: the World Cup.

3. Switzerland is a very solid outfit indeed

La Nati had a strong qualifying campaign and looked set to top their group, until a final day match loss to Portugal. Although Switzerland’s spot at this year’s tournament was shrouded in controversy (thanks to a questionable penalty call in their favor), that should not take away from how good they were during qualifiers, where they went nine games unbeaten before being halted by Portugal.

Serbia may lead the group, but Switzerland will not be lacking in confidence as they take on the Eastern European outfit. After all, if they can come from behind to draw a top-five side like Brazil, then certainly, they can get at least a point or more against the current group leaders.

4. A slow start doesn’t mean Brazil is doomed…

Spain notably lost their opener in 2010 and went on to win the trophy, so it’s not game over. Ironically, the side to frustrate La Furia Roja was none other than Switzerland. In any case, Brazil managed a draw, which is obviously better than a loss, and Serbia current lead the pack, but their win over Costa Rica was only 1-0.

So what does that mean? Basically, it’s still clearly a very open group, but Brazil will need to do better than just a draw against Costa Rica to stay afloat.

5. …but it’s still uncomfortable nonetheless in this very tricky group

It’s obviously known that picking up a win in the opener is vial, as it gives a team a lot more wiggle room when it comes to their next two games. Brazil are the heavy favorites to not just top their quartet, but to progress to the final. However, as we have seen in football, the favorites don’t always turn out as planned, and Tite will definitely have that in mind as they take on Costa Rica (a team no stranger to pulling off upsets of their own).