IT was a mouth-watering prospect: Brazil, minus Neymar, taking on the Swiss at Stadium 974, both already having a win in the bag.
Another three points here would guarantee one side promotion to the Round of 16, while one point for a draw would put both through.
We hoped they didn’t have a not-so-gentleman’s agreement on sharing the spoils.
There was no early score but Richarlison was proving a handful for the Swiss.
The first real shot of the game came as Raphinha fed Vinicius Junior, but it was saved at point blank range by Sommer.
There was a replica chance for Raphinha, but again right at Sommer.
The Swiss had their first-half chance at 38 minutes.
Nil-nil at the break. Was my cynical suggestion of a contrived draw accurate?
Definitely not, as there were plenty of chances for Brazil; but there was certainly no sign of either side endorsing fiery confrontation.
The South Americans were not exactly boring, but they were predictable and the Swiss were not unduly under pressure.
The second half saw the Swiss trying to attack more, but the truth was they never had the wherewithal to make much of an impression.
They could neither pass their way through the midfield nor play the long ball and outrun a back four that hardly raised a sweat.
It wasn’t quite a procession, but Brazil kept on knocking on the door and eventually it opened, to the delight of their fanatical supporters.
Vinicius was the playmaker, setting up his samba partners with metronomic passes that Richarlison, in particular, failed to maximise.
Vinicius actually had the ball in the net, only to be deemed offside and it went into the final 10 minutes before the result was secured.
This time it came from an unlikely source as Casemiro’s rasping shot, aided by a slight deflection, left Sommer a spectator in the Swiss goals.
Brazil then are through 1-0, but Switzerland remain hopeful of progressing, as do Cameroon and Serbia.
