Matches in Group G of the 2022 FIFA World Cup took place from 24 November to 2 December 2022.[1] The group consisted of Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland and Cameroon. The top two teams, Brazil and Switzerland, advanced to the round of 16.[2] This was unprecedented in World Cup history as Brazil won the group despite scoring fewer goals than each of their opponents. Brazil, Serbia and Switzerland also played in Group E at the previous FIFA World Cup.[3]
Notes
In the round of 16:
All times listed are local, AST (UTC+3).[1]
The teams had never met before.
After a goalless first half, Breel Embolo scored the only goal of the match three minutes into the second period, finishing from six yards out after a cross from Xherdan Shaqiri on the right.[5] Embolo did not celebrate the goal in respect to being born in Cameroon; he moved to Switzerland when he was six years old.[6]
The teams had met once in the World Cup, in Brazil's 2–0 group stage victory in 2018. With Serbia playing as Yugoslavia, the sides had met 18 times, including four encounters in FIFA World Cup group stages: in 1930, 1950, 1954 and 1974, with one victory for each and two draws.
After a goalless first half, Richarlison opened the scoring for Brazil in the 62nd minute, when he followed up to finish after Serbian goalkeeper Vanja Milinković-Savić saved Vinícius Júnior's low shot from the left, with Neymar initially creating the chance.[8] Richarlison then made it 2–0 eleven minutes later when he controlled the ball from Vinícius Júnior before finishing to the left of the net with an over-the-shoulder acrobatic right-footed kick. Casemiro hit the woodwork and Fred also had a shot saved with Brazil running out comfortable 2–0 winners.[9]
The teams had faced each other once, a 2010 friendly won 4–3 by Serbia.
Jean-Charles Castelletto put Cameroon into the lead in the 29th minute, when he finished from close range off of a corner. In first-half stoppage time, Strahinja Pavlović equalized with a header, before Sergej Milinković-Savić brought Serbia ahead just two minutes later with a low finish into the corner of the net.[11] Eight minutes into the second half, Aleksandar Mitrović put Serbia 3–1 up with a low finish after a passing move. Vincent Aboubakar scooped the ball over goalkeeper Vanja Milinković-Savić to score Cameroon's second goal in the 63rd minute, awarded by the VAR after initially being deemed offside, before Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting completed the comeback three minutes later with a low shot after a pass from the right by Aboubakar. The match finished in an entertaining 3–3 draw.[12]
This was Cameroon's first point in a World Cup match since 2002, ending an eight-game losing streak.[13]
The teams had met nine times prior, including two draws coming in World Cup group stage matches: 2–2 in 1950 and 1–1 in 2018.
Brazil started the game without the injured Neymar, who was ruled out for the remainder of the group stage after spraining his ankle in the previous match.[15] The only goal of the game was scored by Brazilian midfielder Casemiro in the 83rd minute, when his deflected right-footed shot from inside the penalty area struck the top corner of the net.
The win secured Brazil's passage to the knockout stage, and was their first victory in three attempts against Switzerland at the FIFA World Cup.[16]
The teams had met once before, in Switzerland's 2–1 group stage victory at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. With Serbia playing as Yugoslavia, the two teams had met 13 times, including in the 1950 FIFA World Cup group stage, a 3–0 victory for Yugoslavia.
In an open and entertaining match, Andrija Živković struck the post early on for Serbia, before Xherdan Shaqiri opened the scoring for Switzerland via a deflection, becoming the first Swiss player to score at three different World Cups.[18] Aleksandar Mitrović equalized just six minutes later with a header off of a Dušan Tadić cross, before a poor clearance by Swiss midfielder Remo Freuler allowed Dušan Vlahović to put Serbia in front. The first half would end 2–2 after Breel Embolo brought Switzerland level off of a Silvan Widmer cross.
Serbia, who needed a victory to have a chance of reaching the knockout stage, then went behind again early into the second half, after Freuler finished off a Swiss team goal with a volley. The game became ill-tempered, similar to the sides' previous encounter in 2018, and saw both sets of players scuffle multiple times, primarily triggered after provocation towards the Serbian bench by Swiss captain Granit Xhaka, an ethnic Albanian.[19] The eleven yellow cards distributed during the contest was the most shown in a World Cup match since the twelve given in the 2010 final. Switzerland ultimately retained their lead and won the match 3–2.[20]
Their two group stage victories saw Switzerland progress to the knockout stage as runners-up for a third successive World Cup, while Serbia finished bottom and were eliminated in the first round for their fourth tournament in a row.
The teams had previously met six times, including in two World Cup group stage games, both won by Brazil: a 3–0 victory in 1994 and a 4–1 win in 2014.
Brazil, already assured a place in the knockout stage, made ten changes to their previous starting lineup. Despite the Brazilians having the majority of the game's chances, Cameroon would take the lead in second-half stoppage time, after Vincent Aboubakar ran into the penalty area to head the cross from Jerome Ngom Mbekeli on the right into the net's bottom corner from six yards out.[22]Aboubakar celebrated the goal by removing his shirt, receiving a second yellow card and thus being sent off.[23]
The match marked Brazil's first defeat in the group stage of a World Cup since losing to Norway in 1998. Despite their loss, Brazil clinched top spot in Group G on goal difference as they progressed to the knockout stage. Although they were still eliminated, Cameroon became the first African team to defeat Brazil at a World Cup, with this victory also being their first at the tournament since beating Saudi Arabia in 2002. This result also meant that no team finished the group stage of the World Cup with a perfect winning record for the first time since 1994.
Fair play points would have been used as tiebreakers if the overall and head-to-head records of teams were tied. These were calculated based on yellow and red cards received in all group matches as follows:[2]
Only one of the above deductions was applied to a player in a single match.
