World Cup 2018: 3 things that went wrong for Brazil against Switzerland

Brazil were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw in their opening game in Group E of the WC 2018 at the Rostov Arena last night.

The Selecao started the game on the front-foot and took the lead in the 20th minute when Philippe Coutinho curled a thunderous effort from outside the penalty area to beat Yann Sommer in goal for the Swiss.

However Tite's men resorted to letting Switzerland have the ball for prolonged periods while putting their backs to the wall. That approach backfired as Vladimir Petkovic's side slowly took control of the proceedings.

They restored parity in the 50th minute when Steven Zuber found the back of the net following a well worked corner routine that completely caught out the Brazilians.

Neymar and company never looked like recovering from that blow and failed to kick-start their World Cup campaign on a positive note. Without further delay, let's take a closer look at a number of reasons that probably led to Brazil's undoing on the night.

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#3 Lack of creativity in midfield

Paulinho could not replicate his form with Barcelona for the Selecao

Despite taking the lead through Philippe Coutinho's stunning strike in the 20th minute, the Brazilian midfielders did not enjoy the upper-hand in the middle of the park for the majority of the game.

Paulinho in particular struggled to replicate the kind of form that had helped him re-ignite his career with FC Barcelona in La Liga this year and he was eventually withdrawn in the second half after fading off as the game progressed.

With the exception of Coutinho, almost all of Brazil's creativity went down the drain as Switzerland swiftly took control of the proceedings at the expense of a dismal approach adopted by the five-time World Cup winners.

#2 Valon Behrami deciding to have a 'ball' in midfield

Behrami was quite easily Switzerland's best player against Brazil

The 33 year old midfielder who plies his trade with Udinese in the Serie A caught everyone including Neymar by surprise with his tenacious and combative approach in midfield for Switzerland.

Behrami worked tirelessly throughout the night and complimented his teammates extremely well on the pitch before he was taken off just after the 70th minute, to cap off a man of the match performance.

Valon Behrami's #WorldCup game by numbers vs. #BRA: 100% aerial duels won100% take-ons completed60 touches44 passes attempted41 passes completed6 tackles won4 fouls committed2 interceptionsNeymar's worst nightmare. 👻 pic.twitter.com/nU28yjv3dK

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) June 17, 2018

The midfielder managed to keep Neymar at bay for prolonged periods with his resolute performance, and the frustration of the Selecao was out there for everyone to witness as the tide shifted in Switzerland's favour.

Numbers don't lie and Behrami certainly looked the part against one of the tournament's red-hot favourites and their talisman. Neymar had a night to forget whenever he tried to lock horns with the midfielder born in Kosovo.

#1 Sitting back and inviting pressure from Switzerland

It's back to the drawing board for Tite and his men now

The performance from Brazil last night especially after taking the lead was uncharacteristic to say the least.

Tite's men had their backs to the wall and have got only themselves to blame for inviting trouble without trying to shift gears and kick-on from their early goal advantage.

The Brazilians were unceremoniously knocked off their perch by the Swiss, who took full advantage of the situation by trying to play expansive football whenever they sensed an opening.

Undoubtedly it is back to the drawing board now for Tite and Selecao who will be hoping to chalk out a few alternatives to try and stake their claim as one of the tournament's major attractions.

The result only further implied the fact that the 'big guns' in world football will be put to the sword by the underdogs!

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