World Cup Day 5 recap: Brazil and Switzerland secure big wins

They say the World Cup doesn’t truly begin until Brazil graces the field. And with the anticipation of the fans at an all-time high, the South American side didn’t disappoint.

Despite not winning the competition in two decades, there’s always a magical feeling when watching ‘The Seleção’ produce their magic. With an array of skilful players, the Brazilians leave us spellbound with their mesmerising style of play. And on Thursday evening, the favourites for the competition, looked as good as ever.

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In a performance that embodied precisely what you’d expected from the five-time champions, Brazil, bewildered, dismantled and crushed the Serbians with an effortless brilliance that sent the fans back to the hotels in the knowledge that they’d just witnessed something special.

As they often do, Tite’s men started slow, systematically breaking down the 11 men in front of them. And despite the Serbs’ resilience, Richarlison broke through, diving onto a save, and hammering the ball into the back of the net.

After breaking the deadlock, the Brazilians ran riot, attacking their opponents with relentless waves of pressure, until Richarlison lept into the air for a bicycle kick and connected with incredible velocity, which sent the ball hurtling past a helpless Vanja Milinković-Savić.

As the final whistle blew, every country in the competition realised that, without a doubt, Brazil is the team to beat. But they weren’t the only side to secure a big win.

Read: Freddy Adu reminisces over playing Lionel Messi at Under 20s World Cup (sporf.com)

Brazil and Switzerland secure big wins in the World Cup

Despite Samuel Eto’o’s claims that Cameroon were going to win the World Cup, the Swiss entered the game with the confidence they had the minerals to send the Cameroonian side into their second game without a point on the board.

The two teams contested a close and heated game underneath the beaming Qatari sun. But while the African XI gave it their all, they couldn’t stop Breel Embolo. With the help of Xherdan Shaqiri, the forward born in the Cameroonian capital of Yaounde, but raised in Basel, beat the keeper to bag the win.

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The Swiss now move on to a big game against Brazil on Monday. And while the bookie’s pick will undoubtedly go in favourites, the European side is no stranger to causing monumental upsets, and under the guidance of, Murat Yakin, they’ll believe they can do it again.

Featured Image Credit: CBF Futebol

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