Group E: The Denouement
DENOUEMENT - definition: when Poirot gathers the characters in an upmarket drawing room and discloses who done it – and, indeed, who done it not.
Game 5: Brazil 2 Serbia 0. k.o. 1900, 27/6/ 18, Spartak Stadium, Moscow.
Game 6: Switzerland 2 Costa Rica 2. k.o. 1900, 27/6/18, Nizhny Novgorod.
Whilst weirder scenarios existed, the straightforward way of looking at Group E at kick off was:
- Costa Rica were out
- Switzerland needed a draw to qualify.
- Serbia had to beat (and therefore knock out) Brazil.
Brazil suggested they were up for their match by singing BOTH verses of their anthem. Their side was unaltered and it was Miranda's turn to wear the armband. They were in yellow, Serbia in red: Serbia made 3 changes from the previous line-up. The early minutes saw Neymar run at the heart of Serbia's defence before being stopped. On 9m Brazil had to make their first change on 9m. A very queasy Marcello was replaced by Filipe Luis at left back.
In Novgorod, the Swiss had brought Embolo and Gavranovic into their XI. Costa Rica, perhaps emboldened by the performances of other sides headed home, picked a more attacking side with Colindres and Campbell up front and Waston starting in defence. The Swiss, in red, started like a side playing for a draw, as Costa Rica, in white, took the game to them. In the 6th minute, Sommer made two saves: the first was a routine block of Campbell's shot but, moments later, his dive to tip Borges' header round the post was world class. On 10m Colindres run from the left ended with a fierce shot. It flew past Sommer but bounced away off the bar.
Back in Moscow, Serbia won their first corner when Kostic's shot was deflected. The Brazilian who cleared it (Casemiro?) followed through and caught Mitrovic right in the knackers. OUCH! Former Saint, Dusan Tadic, was deployed down the right again and often found himself up against Neymar who was hugging that touchline. Tadic was always willing to track back when Brazil attacked but Neymar rarely ran after Dusan.
The first card in the other game went to Gamboa for fouling Embolo. Moments later he was seeing stars. He tried to head a cross coming into serbia's box – which Navas had decided to punch. OUCH again! The match was pretty even now; Gavranovic went wide for the Swiss, then Colindres drew another save from Sommer. Lichtsteiner lost his rag with Oviedo who ruffled his hair after upending him. Note to Premier League wingers: Arsenal's right back has a short fuse...
Brazil and Serbia were also going toe to toe, both sides winning corners in quick succession. Alisson was able to punch Serbia's away without clouting any defenders. On 25m Jesus played in Neymar but Stoikovic turned his effort away. Jesus needed treatment was soon back on the park. Then Jesus ran beyond the Serbian defence but turned back into trouble. The following corner was cleared. Then Silva kicked Mitrovic in the head but Brazil were able to clear Tadic's free kick.
Joel Campbell was unlucky to see yellow for an elbow on Embolo. He certainly caught the Swiss but there seemed little intent. Then, out of nowhere, Switzerland strung together a delightful move. Shaqiri saw Lichtsteiner's run down the right and found him with an incisive pass. The capatain measured his cross to the back post where Embolo headed it down and Dzemaili swept the ball home. Switzerland 1-0 and top of Group E.
In Moscow, Ljajic was carded for fouling Neymar. Then, on 34m, Tadic chipped the ball towards Mitrovic. The big centre forward tried an overhead but the ball went way too high. Within a minute, Brazil were back at the top of the group table. Coutinho had carried the ball out of defence and saw Paulinho breaking forwards. One Barcelona player found the other with a fine lob. Paulinho let the ball bounce then toed it over Stojkevic's head: 1-0 Brazil.
To the east, Djemaili nearly grabbed another but was thwarted by a good block. The camera rested on Costa Rica's coach. He looked about to burst into tears. Waston gave Shaqiri a dead leg and while he was down, news came through of Brazil's goal. On 37m Lichtsteiner was booked for putting his studs into Colindres so he misses their next game. Waston then went forward for a CR free-kick and was inches away from getting on the end of it. Switzerland won a couple of corners in the run up to half-time but it was noticeable how high upfield CR were now pressing. They seemed intent on going out with a bang. But at half time, the Swiss still led 1-0.
In Moscow, going behind spurred Serbia into action. They moved with greater urgency and won a few corners that Alisson kept out. In the 2 added minutes Filipe Luis and Neymar worked an opening but the final effort sailed just over. Here too, the half time score was 1-0.
Brazil went onto the offensive at the beginning of the second half. Neymar found Jesus who was crudely upended by Matic who was rightly carded. On 52m a fabulous driven cross by Willian was hacked away. Serbia broke away but Ajax's Tadic cocked up the move. Serbia kept plugging away and a great cross from Ljajic was cleared by Miranda – over his own bar. Brazil cleared the corner and Coutinho found Neymar who forced a save from Stojkovic.
Back in Novgorod, CR started the 2nd half as they had the first. Cambell won an early corner but, when the ball reached him following the kick, he sliced his shot wide. A minute later Rodriguez cut in from the left wing and hit a ferocious shot over the bar. It was proper end to end stuff: when CR's attack broke down Embolo won a corner up the other end. Play swept back to the other box where Sommer reached the ball fractionally before Campbell. On 53m Embolo drew another save from Navas.
CR then cut the Swiss open with Colindres setting up Oviedo to fire over. On 56m they were rewarded: Campbell won a corner on the right and, when the cross came in, Waston climbed over Akanji to head home. The Costa Ricans and their fans went wild. The cameras focused on a blonde fan with ample bosoms as the Swiss considered how a Serbian revival in Moscow might hurt them. As a first reaction, the veteran Behrami was replaced by Zakaria.
Things almost got worse for Switzerland when Serbia nearly pegged back Brazil on 61m. Rukavina swung a cross over from the right, Mitrovic headed it against a defender and the ball was going in until Alisson grabbed it. Tadic seemed to have licence to roam as he was turning up all over the park, often the closest support to Mitrovic. Another fine Rukavina cross found the centre forward but his header went right at Alisson.
Brazil were concerned enough to replace Paulinho with the more defensive Fernandinho who, it must be said, played an absolute blinder in front of Brazil's back four. On 67m Neymar won a succession of corners on Brazil's left flank and when he finally drove a cross into the box, Thiago Silva rose at the near post and glanced the ball past Stojkovic. 2-0 to Brazil and the spectre of a Serbian revival began to fade.
After conceding, the Swiss knuckled down and began passing and moving which forced CR onto the back foot. They still had their moments winning a 69m corner. Before it was taken Drmic replaced Gavranovic. Although Waston was lurking, this time the cross eluded everyone. The last 20m of this match was a good watch. With pressure off, Switzerland knocked the ball about confidently and Costa Rica were determined to enjoy their final match.
At Spartak's stadium, it was all Brazil. Neymar and Coutinho were running the show and creating chances for team mates. Stojkovic did really well to keep out a fearful drive from Filipe Luis before a string of substitutions began. Brazil seemed intent a getting Neymar to score and were guilty of trying to find him when there were better options. The nearest he got to scoring was a fortunate bounce that put him one on one with the keeper but his chip was palmed away.
The closing stages were costly for Switzerland as the ref went card happy. He let Oviedo kick Shaqiri all around the ground yet booked Swiss players for very little. Embolo might have put them ahead but passed when he shoould have shot. Moments later his cross found Drmic whose header came back off the woodwork. CR went straight up the other end and Borges forced another save from Sommer.
Coach Petkovic took pity on Shaqiri when replacing him with Lang on 81m. Lang needs game time as he'll be playing right back when Lichtsteiner is banned. Next on was Rod Wallace – no, not that one. Wallace kicked anything red that moved yet the next booking went to Schar who will also miss Sweden. Then, on 88m, Zakaria carried the ball down the right. His driven cross was met by Drmic who tucked it past Navas for 2-1.
But that was no-where near the end of the excitement. Costa Rica went down the other end, Ruiz went over in the box and the piss-poor ref said penalty. Thankfully, VAR showed he'd been offside so Switzerland survived, temporarily. Waston earned a yellow for barking his protest about an inch from the ref's face. Then, in the 4 added minutes, Zakaria tracked Campbell into the box. The Arsenal man carried out a perfect hook-your-leg-out dive as practiced by strikers at Big Clubz. Both the ref and VAR bought it and Bryan Ruiz was able to end his international career with a World Cup penalty. It was superbly struck but came off the bar, struck the unfortunate Sommer on the back of the head, and went in. Technically an own goal but who cares? When time ran out, Costa Rica were striving for a winner.
Meanwhile in Moscow, Brazil ran down the clock by, mostly, keeping the ball and Serbia had lost the will to press. Three added minutes came and went and, no surprise, the last action saw Stojkovic stop another Neymar effort.
Brazil's win and Switzerland's draw were enough to see them both through. Costa Rica showed a bit of what they were capable of and Serbia got close – but no cigar. Dušan Tadić is now free to go do business in Amsterdam.
Game 5: Brazil 2 Serbia 0. k.o. 1900, 27/6/ 18, Spartak Stadium, Moscow.
Game 6: Switzerland 2 Costa Rica 2. k.o. 1900, 27/6/18, Nizhny Novgorod.
Whilst weirder scenarios existed, the straightforward way of looking at Group E at kick off was:
- Costa Rica were out
- Switzerland needed a draw to qualify.
- Serbia had to beat (and therefore knock out) Brazil.
Brazil suggested they were up for their match by singing BOTH verses of their anthem. Their side was unaltered and it was Miranda's turn to wear the armband. They were in yellow, Serbia in red: Serbia made 3 changes from the previous line-up. The early minutes saw Neymar run at the heart of Serbia's defence before being stopped. On 9m Brazil had to make their first change on 9m. A very queasy Marcello was replaced by Filipe Luis at left back.
In Novgorod, the Swiss had brought Embolo and Gavranovic into their XI. Costa Rica, perhaps emboldened by the performances of other sides headed home, picked a more attacking side with Colindres and Campbell up front and Waston starting in defence. The Swiss, in red, started like a side playing for a draw, as Costa Rica, in white, took the game to them. In the 6th minute, Sommer made two saves: the first was a routine block of Campbell's shot but, moments later, his dive to tip Borges' header round the post was world class. On 10m Colindres run from the left ended with a fierce shot. It flew past Sommer but bounced away off the bar.
Back in Moscow, Serbia won their first corner when Kostic's shot was deflected. The Brazilian who cleared it (Casemiro?) followed through and caught Mitrovic right in the knackers. OUCH! Former Saint, Dusan Tadic, was deployed down the right again and often found himself up against Neymar who was hugging that touchline. Tadic was always willing to track back when Brazil attacked but Neymar rarely ran after Dusan.
The first card in the other game went to Gamboa for fouling Embolo. Moments later he was seeing stars. He tried to head a cross coming into serbia's box – which Navas had decided to punch. OUCH again! The match was pretty even now; Gavranovic went wide for the Swiss, then Colindres drew another save from Sommer. Lichtsteiner lost his rag with Oviedo who ruffled his hair after upending him. Note to Premier League wingers: Arsenal's right back has a short fuse...
Brazil and Serbia were also going toe to toe, both sides winning corners in quick succession. Alisson was able to punch Serbia's away without clouting any defenders. On 25m Jesus played in Neymar but Stoikovic turned his effort away. Jesus needed treatment was soon back on the park. Then Jesus ran beyond the Serbian defence but turned back into trouble. The following corner was cleared. Then Silva kicked Mitrovic in the head but Brazil were able to clear Tadic's free kick.
Joel Campbell was unlucky to see yellow for an elbow on Embolo. He certainly caught the Swiss but there seemed little intent. Then, out of nowhere, Switzerland strung together a delightful move. Shaqiri saw Lichtsteiner's run down the right and found him with an incisive pass. The capatain measured his cross to the back post where Embolo headed it down and Dzemaili swept the ball home. Switzerland 1-0 and top of Group E.
In Moscow, Ljajic was carded for fouling Neymar. Then, on 34m, Tadic chipped the ball towards Mitrovic. The big centre forward tried an overhead but the ball went way too high. Within a minute, Brazil were back at the top of the group table. Coutinho had carried the ball out of defence and saw Paulinho breaking forwards. One Barcelona player found the other with a fine lob. Paulinho let the ball bounce then toed it over Stojkevic's head: 1-0 Brazil.
To the east, Djemaili nearly grabbed another but was thwarted by a good block. The camera rested on Costa Rica's coach. He looked about to burst into tears. Waston gave Shaqiri a dead leg and while he was down, news came through of Brazil's goal. On 37m Lichtsteiner was booked for putting his studs into Colindres so he misses their next game. Waston then went forward for a CR free-kick and was inches away from getting on the end of it. Switzerland won a couple of corners in the run up to half-time but it was noticeable how high upfield CR were now pressing. They seemed intent on going out with a bang. But at half time, the Swiss still led 1-0.
In Moscow, going behind spurred Serbia into action. They moved with greater urgency and won a few corners that Alisson kept out. In the 2 added minutes Filipe Luis and Neymar worked an opening but the final effort sailed just over. Here too, the half time score was 1-0.
Brazil went onto the offensive at the beginning of the second half. Neymar found Jesus who was crudely upended by Matic who was rightly carded. On 52m a fabulous driven cross by Willian was hacked away. Serbia broke away but Ajax's Tadic cocked up the move. Serbia kept plugging away and a great cross from Ljajic was cleared by Miranda – over his own bar. Brazil cleared the corner and Coutinho found Neymar who forced a save from Stojkovic.
Back in Novgorod, CR started the 2nd half as they had the first. Cambell won an early corner but, when the ball reached him following the kick, he sliced his shot wide. A minute later Rodriguez cut in from the left wing and hit a ferocious shot over the bar. It was proper end to end stuff: when CR's attack broke down Embolo won a corner up the other end. Play swept back to the other box where Sommer reached the ball fractionally before Campbell. On 53m Embolo drew another save from Navas.
CR then cut the Swiss open with Colindres setting up Oviedo to fire over. On 56m they were rewarded: Campbell won a corner on the right and, when the cross came in, Waston climbed over Akanji to head home. The Costa Ricans and their fans went wild. The cameras focused on a blonde fan with ample bosoms as the Swiss considered how a Serbian revival in Moscow might hurt them. As a first reaction, the veteran Behrami was replaced by Zakaria.
Things almost got worse for Switzerland when Serbia nearly pegged back Brazil on 61m. Rukavina swung a cross over from the right, Mitrovic headed it against a defender and the ball was going in until Alisson grabbed it. Tadic seemed to have licence to roam as he was turning up all over the park, often the closest support to Mitrovic. Another fine Rukavina cross found the centre forward but his header went right at Alisson.
Brazil were concerned enough to replace Paulinho with the more defensive Fernandinho who, it must be said, played an absolute blinder in front of Brazil's back four. On 67m Neymar won a succession of corners on Brazil's left flank and when he finally drove a cross into the box, Thiago Silva rose at the near post and glanced the ball past Stojkovic. 2-0 to Brazil and the spectre of a Serbian revival began to fade.
After conceding, the Swiss knuckled down and began passing and moving which forced CR onto the back foot. They still had their moments winning a 69m corner. Before it was taken Drmic replaced Gavranovic. Although Waston was lurking, this time the cross eluded everyone. The last 20m of this match was a good watch. With pressure off, Switzerland knocked the ball about confidently and Costa Rica were determined to enjoy their final match.
At Spartak's stadium, it was all Brazil. Neymar and Coutinho were running the show and creating chances for team mates. Stojkovic did really well to keep out a fearful drive from Filipe Luis before a string of substitutions began. Brazil seemed intent a getting Neymar to score and were guilty of trying to find him when there were better options. The nearest he got to scoring was a fortunate bounce that put him one on one with the keeper but his chip was palmed away.
The closing stages were costly for Switzerland as the ref went card happy. He let Oviedo kick Shaqiri all around the ground yet booked Swiss players for very little. Embolo might have put them ahead but passed when he shoould have shot. Moments later his cross found Drmic whose header came back off the woodwork. CR went straight up the other end and Borges forced another save from Sommer.
Coach Petkovic took pity on Shaqiri when replacing him with Lang on 81m. Lang needs game time as he'll be playing right back when Lichtsteiner is banned. Next on was Rod Wallace – no, not that one. Wallace kicked anything red that moved yet the next booking went to Schar who will also miss Sweden. Then, on 88m, Zakaria carried the ball down the right. His driven cross was met by Drmic who tucked it past Navas for 2-1.
But that was no-where near the end of the excitement. Costa Rica went down the other end, Ruiz went over in the box and the piss-poor ref said penalty. Thankfully, VAR showed he'd been offside so Switzerland survived, temporarily. Waston earned a yellow for barking his protest about an inch from the ref's face. Then, in the 4 added minutes, Zakaria tracked Campbell into the box. The Arsenal man carried out a perfect hook-your-leg-out dive as practiced by strikers at Big Clubz. Both the ref and VAR bought it and Bryan Ruiz was able to end his international career with a World Cup penalty. It was superbly struck but came off the bar, struck the unfortunate Sommer on the back of the head, and went in. Technically an own goal but who cares? When time ran out, Costa Rica were striving for a winner.
Meanwhile in Moscow, Brazil ran down the clock by, mostly, keeping the ball and Serbia had lost the will to press. Three added minutes came and went and, no surprise, the last action saw Stojkovic stop another Neymar effort.
Brazil's win and Switzerland's draw were enough to see them both through. Costa Rica showed a bit of what they were capable of and Serbia got close – but no cigar. Dušan Tadić is now free to go do business in Amsterdam.
