Rostov-on-Don: The five-time world champions Brazil failed to win their opening World Cup match as Switzerland’s Steven Zuber’s header cancelled out Philippe Coutinho’s spectacular goal, bringing the result to a sloppy 1-1 draw in Rostov.
Coutinho opened the scoring for Brazil with this stunning signature curler in the first half, which made the match pretty much all Brazil from the beginning.
However, Steven Zuber’s header from a corner earned the Swiss who are ranked sixth in the world, a deserved point.
With this, Brazil’s momentum had dissipated and the tempo of the match apparently slowing down.
Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer was at his best and gave a marvellous performance as he came up with several impressive stops, which included a diving save of Roberto Firmino’s header just before injury time.
The draw brings an end to Brazil’s run of nine wins in opening World Cup fixtures.
Brazil on Wednesday faces Serbia, the current Group E leader after it defeated Costa Rica, who will cross swords with Switzerland in a crucial group-stage match the same day. (ANI)