Casemiro scored a stunning winner as five-time champions Brazil edged past Switzerland to reach the World Cup knockout stage. An otherwise drab encounter was brought to life seven minutes from time as Manchester United midfielder Casemiro fired a first-time effort into the far corner, leaving goalkeeper Yann Sommer standing. Earlier, Cameroon drew against Serbia 3-3 while Ghana beat South Korea 3-2. Gulf News football experts discuss the matches and look ahead to tomorrow’s fixtures.
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00:00You're watching Golf News Kicking Back. I'm joined by Sharm and Shams here to talk about
00:13day nine of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. We're not for the first time during this tournament.
00:18My television warned me it's about to turn itself off because I've had it on the same
00:22channel without touching the remote for hours. But thankfully it didn't turn off during that
00:27Cameroon and Serbia match because that was an absolute thriller. Cameroon have kept their
00:32hopes alive of reaching the last 16 as they battled back from two goals down to draw 3-3
00:37in Group G. Now Sharm, that was a proper six-goal thriller, wasn't it?
00:42Absolutely, absolutely. That is a proper World Cup match. Look at that. You come back from
00:50two goals down to draw, that is phenomenal. This often happens mostly with the African
00:55side because they play this unhibited soccer. They are not so much into game management.
01:02They try and score as much as possible. Every time they win behind, they just play with
01:10full abandon, which is why we got a cracker of a match.
01:15It really was a cracker of a match. Shams, what did you make of that? Cameroon took the
01:19lead but then Serbia showed their quality. They pegged them back. They went in at half-time
01:242-1 up. Mitrovic added a third and it looked like it was game over for them but they came
01:31back really strong. They hit back with a lovely looping effort from Vincent Aboubakar. It
01:37was a lovely goal from him. He is 6'8", by the way. He is not one of those little tricky
01:41type players. For him to do such a goal was a terrific goal. Then Choupo-Moting's equaliser
01:47three minutes later. It was a thriller, wasn't it?
01:51It was a thriller. When you look at the tactical side of the game, it was a howler from the
01:58Serbian coach. They call him Pixy, Dragan Storković. The thing is that you have potentially
02:05a world-class striker in Blahović on the bench. You remember Jović. He is also a brilliant
02:12striker who is coming back to the home because he had a horrid time in Real Madrid but now
02:18he is playing back in Italy and he is scoring goals. He kept both of them on the bench when
02:23they needed the winner. That was absolutely baffling. And Mitrovic, who is not 100% fit,
02:29he can hardly run because of fitness always. He never used to run that much. But after
02:3460 minutes, he should have been off. And Pixy should have brought in Blahović. That could
02:39have made a big difference. And then Vincent Aboubakar, there is a story behind him. He
02:43was always telling that he is better than Salah. And he has scored a goal today and
02:47created one for the team. That was an incredible match, man. What a thriller it was. And from
02:52the tactical side, Serbia made a howler, to be honest. And even Sergej Milenković, one
02:56of their best players, he took him off when the game needed a goal. Baffling decisions.
03:01But even Shabshir Aboubakar, he didn't start the game. He came off from the bench and he
03:07showed to Rigoberto Song what a good quality striker that he is. I mean, when you look
03:10at him, he looks like he is big and slow because he is 7ft tall almost. 6ft8. I mean, he is
03:16a target man. But that really was a stunning little finish. He broke through and he logged
03:21over the keeper. It was tremendous. Chand, do you think that is the most exciting game
03:25so far? It finished 3-3. But really, it could have been 7-7, 8-8. It could have been any
03:30number of scores.
03:31Yeah, because an equal number of opportunities were missed as well. But that is the beauty
03:38of this game when you play these open games. You get some goals and you miss a lot. But
03:46I think I will take it because that was an edge of the seat step.
03:50It really was. OK, look, both of those sides, they lost their opening match. So a point
03:55apiece gives them a bit of hope of advancing to the last 16. Although Brazil and Switzerland
04:01in that group are the favourites and they were playing against each other. It is literally
04:04just finished a moment ago. Brazil won it 1-0. But Shabshir, I mean, it is the second
04:10time that we have seen Brazil against Serbia. They looked slow and leggy and laboured. And
04:14today, the same thing. They looked like they were struggling to create chances. They were
04:18missing Neymar. I mean, do you think had he been on the pitch, there would have been a
04:22bit more cutting edge from them today?
04:23Definitely, man. You know, people see in the modern football era, I think Neymar is one
04:29of the most underrated footballers over there. Because the quality that he possesses, he
04:33takes on players. He attracts two defenders all the time and that gives space for others
04:38to operate. And that thing they were missing today. And Switzerland came to just defend
04:44and they needed a 0-0. And they could have gone for the next game against Serbia in a
04:49better momentum. But, you know, their game plan literally worked until the substitutions
04:55that Tite made. Fred should have never started that game. Instead, Bruno Guimaraes should
04:59have started. Because we have seen the quality of that man when he was playing for Newcastle
05:05United. Absolutely brilliant footballer. He can play as a 6th and an 8th in a game without
05:11any pressure. And even the goal from Casemiro came because Casemiro moved forward knowing
05:16that this guy, Bruno Guimaraes is behind me. He can do the job for me. And Casemiro's strike
05:21was absolutely incredible. But the question that you were asking, yeah, they were not
05:25creating enough. But then, they were not letting in any shots either. This is the second game
05:30running where Brazil haven't conceded a shot on target, which is pretty impressive. And
05:36another thing is that, from the Swiss point of view, Xhaka was playing so deep, man. He
05:41should have moved a little bit forward. Because we have seen him playing for Arsenal in that
05:45number 8 goal and making those dashing runs into the box. So, they missed a trick playing
05:50Xhaka in the double-closed. But for Brazil, it's a great point. They are back into the
05:55round of 16. But there are a lot of question marks to be asked. But the substitutions
06:02that Tite made, like Rodrigo and Bruno Guimaraes, look at the bench strength, man. That's immense.
06:09That's what Brazil has. The quality, man. Unbelievable quality. Even, yes, Neymar is
06:15a major miss. But the quality in-depth is outrageous. But they missed, more than Neymar,
06:21I believe, Danilo. Because they were playing a centre-back Militao in right-back area.
06:26And that didn't work out. But they don't have anyone else apart from Danny Alves, who
06:29is pretty old and he can't handle these kind of intense games. But what I saw is that lack
06:35of intensity from Brazil. But they took it over in the last 20 minutes, I guess.
06:39I mean, it says something about the quality of the team when it's your defensive midfielder,
06:43Casemiro, scoring a screamer like that with 9 minutes to go. I mean, they've got such
06:47a, like we've just said, such a quality squad. But Tacham, okay, Brazil have now joined France
06:53by winning the first two games of the tournament to qualify for that last 16. They were already,
06:58both these teams were already amongst the favourites to win it. But now they'll be
07:02fancying their chances even more, won't they? True, but I think Brazil still have a lot more
07:09to improve. I think, actually, I was pretty much under the belief that this Brazil side has so much
07:16quality that Neymar's absence wouldn't hurt them. But today's match proved me wrong simply because
07:23Neymar's absence was really, really felt. Shamjeet made a valid point about his
07:28talismanic players, not just Neymar, any talismanic player. The difference is that
07:33talismanic players tend to attract more than one defender on them, which means you have a player
07:39free. This is actually exactly what was missing in today's game. And not just that, Neymar makes
07:45those zinging runs in the middle, which are actually slices of the defence. Today, you could
07:50see that there was lack of creativity there. When the Swiss were packing the defence,
07:56they were unable to unlock the defence. This is where a creative player like Neymar comes in.
08:01That makes the difference here. And actually, we saw that there. Now, whether Brazil will fancy
08:08their chances? Yes, certainly they will. But I think they have the quality within themselves to
08:13lift them to a higher level. Today, if you look at the match, after 60 minutes, say around the 70th
08:19mark, they pushed the tempo up. The game was really buzzing at that point of time. So they
08:24can play on several gears. As and when required, they can really, really push the gears up,
08:32which is something very remarkable about Brazil, which you don't see in other sides.
08:37And that is simply because of the bench strength, as Sanchez said. So Brazil's chances,
08:43irrespective of, maybe this is not a match which really didn't catch fire, but still,
08:49Brazil will take that. And they think that it doesn't diminish their status as favourites.
08:56Now, coming to France, France is perhaps one side which hasn't put a foot wrong.
09:02And even with the absence of Benzema, we've seen that Kylian Mbappe has really, really
09:09been spearheading the attack. And he seems to be very scary every time he gets the ball.
09:14And every time he gets the ball, you know something is going to happen.
09:17And that scares the defenders even more. And that's all the more reason why
09:23France will go very deep in this tournament.
09:27Yeah, I think we can all agree that they're looking very good. They played really well
09:30against the Australians, scored four goals with Mbappe getting one and getting an assist.
09:36He got two more the other night. So yeah, both Brazil and France looking very strong.
09:40Just a little note on Brazil. I mean, Neymar's going to be missing again for that
09:44third game against Cameroon. Now, depending on how bad that ankle injury is,
09:49we could see them struggle possibly in the last 16 of the tournament.
09:54But like we've just said, with their bench strength, you know, it could be a case of
09:57Martinelli gets a chance. The Arsenal player, he's really good. He's hardly had a look in so far.
10:03So we know they've got plenty of quality. I think they're going to be fine. We're
10:06worrying about nothing about Brazil. They've got too much quality there.
10:09OK, look, in between those two games, Ghana won a thriller against South Korea by three goals
10:14to two. The Africans had stormed into a two-goal lead. But then back came Ghana with a tremendous
10:22comeback. It was just superb. Mohamed Kudus, the Ajax star, scored a couple of great goals.
10:28There was a goal from the Southampton defender, Mohamed Salisu, in the first half.
10:32And then they held on for a 3-2 win. Sharm, that was a frenetic match from beginning to the end, wasn't it?
10:39Absolutely, Tejit. Actually, it followed on from the Cameroon match, where you saw six goals.
10:44And here you have another match with five goals. So you had 11 goals in two matches.
10:48This is the World Cup at its finest. And I thought if this game had gone on for another
10:54five or ten minutes, South Korea might have equalised, because that was the amount of
10:58pressure they were exerting on the Ghana defence, really. And Ghana, if you look at it, they are
11:05ranked 61, but they are playing like they were somewhere in the 20s. That is the kind of game
11:10they put forward. And I love that match, seriously. And Kudu is one of my favourite players here.
11:16And that, man, is really, really something.
11:20In fact, Shabshir, they are the lowest ranked team in the World Cup.
11:24But they showed tremendous spirit and determination. And now, surely, they're going to feel confident
11:28that they can get out of the group. But they've got Uruguay in the next game.
11:31It's going to be hard for them, isn't it?
11:34It's going to be. But you missed. Everton missed a trick on Kudu's man.
11:38I wish. We were so close. We were so close. And now his value will be like 100 million now.
11:46He's one of the players of the tournament so far. The way that he's playing,
11:50the most creative. And in the game before this, against Portugal, I don't understand why he
11:56subbed him off. The manager subbed him off. Because keep him on. He creates something for
12:01your team. And that was like what Sham said. It was one of the crazy games and one of the World
12:06Cup classics. And South Korea, in the last 10-15 minutes, they were right there in Ghana's box.
12:12They were spamming crosses. 10-12 crosses. And that was an immense game. But Son had a couple of
12:21half chances, which he could have been a hero there. But things in that group is very frantic.
12:27Anything can happen after the Portugal-Uruguay game. You can get a clearer picture. And this
12:33World Cup, some of the games have been really, really interesting. Absolutely mental.
12:38I think with the team desperate for points now, we're going to be seeing a lot more of these
12:43open games where they're end-to-end. And there's just chances galore. Because obviously,
12:48they're trying to go for the win. They're trying to get into those first and second spots. So
12:52I think we've had five goalless draws so far. The record in the World Cup is seven.
12:56But I think now we're going to be seeing a lot more games like we've seen today. 3-3, 3-2.
13:01Surprising Brazil only getting the one goal today. But the word in South Korea, look,
13:05they've got to face Portugal in that last match. And Sharm, it's going to be hard for them,
13:10do you think? Or do you think they can possibly nick that and go through?
13:15Yeah. It depends on today's match. I think the group will be decided today. If
13:23Portugal beats Uruguay, Portugal goes through, then that leaves the second slot. Ghana is right
13:31up there. So is South Korea. So I think it will be a difficult call there.
13:38Okay, we'll see what happens. There's more games tomorrow. There's four games
13:42more tomorrow. Ecuador, who've been the surprise of the tournament so far,
13:46with Valencia being the top scorer, getting three goals, they take on Senegal.
13:49Shamsir, how do you see that one going?
13:53Senegal needs all three points to go through, I guess. And Ecuador has been one of the teams
13:59of the tournament so far. The way that they are playing, a very slick passing movement,
14:03and the physical strength in Moises Caicedo and Gruzos in the midfield. And Valencia,
14:09we all know how good he has been. But it didn't work out for him in the Premier League. But
14:14going to Turkey, he's scoring goals over there. But I don't know whether he's fit enough to start
14:18tomorrow's game. But, you know, it's going to be, like what you said, it's going to be another
14:24Frankie Kane because Senegal needs all three points. They're clearly missing Mane, man. If
14:29Mane would have been there, it would have made a world of difference for these guys. But then
14:33it's going to be a fascinating match, I believe.
14:36He's going to be a huge miss. Okay, Netherlands, Sham, are playing Qatar. I know you like
14:40the Netherlands. Have you been impressed with them so far? Or do you think there's a lot more
14:43for them to come? Isn't it?
14:45They've been very, very poor, actually. They are not playing the Dutchman at all.
14:50I seriously fear for them because I think they are one of the easier groups. Otherwise,
14:56they would have had a difficult time qualifying. But against Qatar, I don't think there's any
15:01contest there.
15:03Yeah, it shouldn't be. Iran are playing USA. That should be a very tense affair. But the
15:07other game to look out for is Wales against England. Now, yeah, that's going to be a very
15:12interesting battle. Wales still have a chance to go through. The group is wide open. It could
15:18be anybody who goes through in the end. Shamsu, who do you think is going to come out of that
15:21group B?
15:22If England is going to play like what they did against USA, that's going to be a problem
15:28for them. It's all down to the game and the tactics and the formations and all these things.
15:35I can't believe the same squad that played against Iran played that way against USA.
15:41It was baffling because there was no intensity. They were very slow to the game. They were
15:46not winning the second ball. They were hardly doing anything. And they could have got punished
15:50if USA had clinical finishers. They didn't have anybody. They had only one shot on target,
15:55if I remember right. But Wales is not like USA. They won't be pressing hard. They won't be
16:02using high intensity and all. They will be more organized and defending and using counter-attack.
16:08But for Wales also, they have been disappointing for me. I expected a lot more from the talisman
16:14like Gareth Bale or even Ramses. They haven't produced enough in this tournament so far.
16:19But one last chance. And it's against England. We all know Wales. The teams like Wales, Scotland,
16:27all these guys will love to play against England and get a win. And that win could put England's
16:32World Cup hopes in jeopardy as well. So, it's going to be a fascinating game. But
16:36England needs to up the ante, man. They have to play the same way that they played against Iran.
16:40Otherwise, it's going to be a very, very tense affair.
16:44It's going to be. You're right, Shamsir. It's going to be that way. I've been saying that
16:48Southgate's got to make some big changes tomorrow to the team. I think we need to introduce Foden to
16:53the team. And I think Jack Grealish also has to start. Raheem Sterling, I think, unfortunately,
16:57we know he's a big game player. But he's been off the boil, I think, especially against the USA.
17:01He was hardly in the match. So, I can see him sitting out. Shams, do you think there'll be
17:06big changes there from the team, from Southgate? And do you think Wales can shock England?
17:11I think there shouldn't be a problem. They might scrape through with a 1-0 or a 2-0 win.
17:19Like Shamsir said, they're going to sit back and defend and catch them on the counters, really.
17:23So, it's going to be a boring match, to be honest.
17:29A boring match.
17:30Yes, simply because it's, I mean, I don't see it's going to, it's not going to elevate itself
17:40to another level unless you go… Because the way Southgate has been putting out players,
17:46it's not really… I mean, what do I say? I mean, it doesn't really catch my fancy. See,
17:53you have a player like Foden. Foden is one of my favourite players. And if England can't put Foden
18:00on the field, it says a lot about their approach. Seriously, that's which is why I'm saying England
18:06is a boring side. If you can't have a creative player like him on the pitch, then that means
18:13your philosophy is different. And same goes for Grealish. See, these are the guys who could make,
18:21who could create something out of nothing. And England prefers the safety and more safer approach.
18:26I mean, which is not my way of playing or watching football.
18:32So, yeah.
18:33So, I mean…
18:34I will add one more point. One point to that, like what you said. You're absolutely right about Foden.
18:41He's playing under a manager called Pep Guardiola. That guy has taught him how to use the spaces,
18:46how to use in the position. And he's one of the generational talents out there. And if he can't
18:52get one minute on the pitch against USA, that shows how the manager is actually. You can go ahead.
18:58No, you're absolutely right. I said the same thing today in a comment that I'd written.
19:03You know, we all know Guardiola is the best manager in the world and he can tell Foden's a
19:07great player. He can play across all those front five attacking positions. But surely the England
19:12manager should be able to see that as well. So, hopefully, if Foden is playing tomorrow and if
19:16Grealish is playing tomorrow, I think we're going to be seeing a totally different England team
19:20playing on the front foot like they did against Iran. That was a good performance. I can see that
19:24happening, but only if Southgate's brave enough to make those changes. Right, we'll see how it all
19:29happens tomorrow. We'll be back in the evening to see how all these matches go on. It's getting
19:34interesting now. We're getting lots of goals. Hopefully, there's more goals and incidents to
19:38talk about tomorrow. In the meantime, head to gulfnews.com for all the latest news and the
19:42reviews and check us out on our social media channels. Thanks to the guys and we'll be back
19:46tomorrow night.