Switzerland held Brazil to a deserved 1-1 draw as one of the World Cup favourites again started the tournament slowly.
Philippe Coutinho’s curling stunner looked to kickstart the Selecao’s campaign, but a well-drilled performance from the Swiss, and Steven Zuber’s header, shared the spoils.
Hours earlier, Mexico beat reigning champions Germany while Spain were pegged back by Portugal on Friday.
Brazil started strongly with Willian, Neymar and Coutinho all looking lively in the opening stages. The Paris Saint-Germain forward was also seemingly a target for Switzerland’s tough tackling early on.
It was no surprise when Brazil broke the deadlock but the quality of the goal was stunning as Coutinho, known for his long-range strikes, beat Yann Sommer from 25 yards with a glorious curling effort.
Switzerland were battling to maintain their unbeaten record in opening games across the previous four tournaments, even beating eventual champions Spain in 2010, and reacted well to going behind. Read more