Manchester United midfielder, Casemiro, fired Brazil into the knockout stages of the 2022 World Cup finals with a 1-0 victory over Switzerland.
Casemiro’s spectacular goal in the 83rd minute sent Brazil through with a game to spare in the World Cup Group G.
With Neymar missing the game due to an ankle injury, the five-time champions laboured for long periods of the match as they struggled to break down the determined defensive set up of their Group G opponents.
Vinicius Jnr had looked the most likely to make the breakthrough and saw a second-half strike ruled out by VAR with Richarlison offside earlier in the move.
But with just seven minutes of the 90 remaining, Casemiro latched onto Rodrygo’s smart flick from Vinicius’ pass inside and slammed home with the help of a glancing deflection off Manuel Akanji.
The two previous World Cup meetings between the two sides had ended in draws – 2-2 in 1950, and 1-1 in 2018.
The Brazilians had only won three of their nine match-ups with Switzerland in total, with four drawn and two losses.
The thrilling 3-3 draw between Serbia and Cameroon earlier in the day means Brazil, with two wins from two matches, are guaranteed a top two spot, although Switzerland – sitting on three points – will need a win in their final group game with Serbia to guarantee their progress.
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