Brazil's last World Cup ended in extreme sadness, and the Seleção are eager to turn the page when they face Switzerland in Rostov-on-Don, Russia on Sunday.
Brazil's 7-1 semifinal defeat on home soil to Germany has clouded the national team ever since, but with a healthy Neymar surrounded by a rejuvenated cast that includes Gabriel Jesus, Roberto Firmino, Philippe Coutinho and Marcelo, Brazil has eyes on a record sixth World Cup title.
Standing in its way is a Switzerland team that can cause problems. The Swiss went 9-1-0 in World Cup qualifying, only failing to win its group due to losing the goal-differential tiebreaker to Portugal. With Granit Xhaka in the middle and Breel Embolo and Xherdan Shaqiri in the attack, the sixth-ranked team in the world will look to pile more World Cup misery onto its opponent.
Switzerland came up with the first chance of the game, with Shaqiri supplying a cross for Blerim Dzemaili in the fourth minute, though it was slightly behind the veteran, and as he reached back to volley it, he directed it high over the bar.
Brazil earned its first chance in the 12th minute, coming inches away from taking the lead. Coutinho and Neymar combined on the left channel, with the latter sending in a cross for Paulinho. His redirect trickled just wide of the far post, keeping it 0-0.
Brazil got its lead in the 20th minute in sensational fashion. A clearance attempt fell to Coutinho just outside of the box, and he sent a curling missle into the far upper 90 to give the Seleção a 1-0 lead.
Just before halftime, Brazil had a chance to double its lead after Marcelo won a corner kick, with Thiago Silva's glancing header flying just over the crossbar.
Switzerland netted its equalizer five minutes into the second half off a corner kick. It was all rather straightforward, with Steven Zuber beating Miranda to the ball and heading home from the doorstep to make it 1-1 in the 50th minute. Brazil players called for VAR to be used, as Zuber appeared to push off Miranda to create space to win the header, but play continued and the goal stood.
The equalizer woke Brazil up, and seven minutes later Coutinho had a pair of chances at the edge of the box blocked, before Neymar had a shot redirected into the side netting on the same sequence.
Stay tuned here for live updates and highlights of goals and key plays from throughout the match (refresh for most recent updates).
Here are the lineups for both sides:
Here are the rosters for both nations:
BRAZIL
Goalkeepers: Alisson (Roma), Ederson (Man City), Cassio (Corinthians)
Defenders: Danilo (Man City), Fagner (Corinthians), Thiago Silva (PSG), Miranda (Inter), Marquinhos (PSG), Pedro Geromel (Gremio), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Filipe Luis (Atletico Madrid)
Midfielders: Casemiro (Real Madrid), Paulinho (Barcelona), Fernandinho (Man City), Renato Augusto (Beijing Guoan), Philippe Coutinho (Barcelona), Fred (Shakhtar), Willian (Chelsea)
Forwards: Neymar (PSG), Roberto Firmino (Liverpool), Gabriel Jesus (Man City), Douglas Costa (Juventus), Taison (Shakhtar)
Manager: Tite
SWITZERLAND
Goalkeepers: Roman Burki (Borussia Dortmund), Yvon Mvogo (RB Leipzig), Yann Sommer (Borussia Monchengladbach)
Defenders: Manuel Akanji (Borussia Dortmund), Johan Djourou (Antalyaspor), Nico Elvedi (Borussia Monchengladbach), Michael Lang (FC Basel), Stephan Lichtsteiner (Juventus), Jacques-Francois Moubandje (Toulouse), Ricardo Rodriguez (AC Milan), Fabian Schar (Deportivo La Coruna)
Midfielders: Valon Behrami (Udinese), Blerim Dzemaili (Bologna), Gelson Fernandes (Eintracht Frankfurt), Remo Freuler (Atalanta), Xherdan Shaqiri (Stoke City), Granit Xhaka (Arsenal), Steven Zuber (Hoffenheim), Denis Zakaria (Borussia Monchengladbach)
Forwards: Josip Drmic (Borussia Monchengladbach), Breel Embolo (Schalke), Mario Gavranovic (Dinamo Zagreb), Haris Seferovic (Benfica)
Manager: Vladimir Petkovic
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