Closeâ¢Â Joined ESPN in 2011
â¢Â Covered two Olympics, a pair of Rugby World Cups and two British & Irish Lions tours
â¢Â Previously rugby editor, and became senior writer in 2018
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AL-WAKRAH, Qatar - Switzerland got their World Cup campaign off to the perfect start with a 1-0 victory over Cameroon at the Al Janoub Stadium on Thursday.
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Cameroon had chances to take the lead in the first half, but it was Switzerland who finally broke the deadlock in the 48th minute with Breel Embolo finishing from close range.
Switzerland had some brilliant chances to add to their tally, but were thwarted by some remarkable, last-gasp defending.
With Brazil and Serbia both lying in wait for these teams, it's Switzerland who will go forward with confidence, while for Cameroon, they need two remarkable performances to stand any chance of making the knockouts.
JUMP TO: Player ratings | Best/worst performers | Highlights and notable moments | Post-match quotes | Key stats | Upcoming fixtures
Rapid Reaction
1. The Cameroon-born striker who ruined Cameroon's hopes
The breakthrough finally came early in the second half. Xherdan Shaqiri's cross found Embolo about 8 yards out and he finished comfortably past goalkeeper Andre Onana. It was Embolo's first World Cup goal and you imagine one of the best moments of his life, but the celebrations were muted. Instead he raised his hands in apology -- a sign of respect.
Embolo was born in Yaounde, Cameroon, in 1997, but was raised in Basel. His youth career saw him progress through the ranks to make the FC Basel first team and he played there for two seasons until moving to the Bundesliga.
But his land of birth was a topic in the Swiss camp this week. Captain Granit Xhaka said on the eve of the match the two had spoken about Embolo's roots, but Xhaka said "he's calm and he'll enjoy the match," adding "hopefully he'll score." He did just that.
Before the match, the Cameroon fans were serenading one of their national heroes in Roger Milla, who received a special FIFA award on the pitch. But just over an hour later, they were left to bemoan a striker who got away as Embolo ended up with his own slice of World Cup history.
Breel Embolo was reluctant to celebrate after scoring the goal which defeated the country of his birth. Christian Charisius/picture alliance via Getty Images2. Cameroon's hopes hang by a thread
Group G
| GP | W | D | L | GD | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 - Brazil | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | +2 | 6 |
| 2 - Switzerland | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 6 |
| 3 - Cameroon | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 - Serbia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -3 | 1 |
| Top two countries qualify for round of 16 | ||||||
They had their chances after dominating the first half and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting was at the centre of most of what they did well, but also in the midst of their squandered opportunities. The Bayern Munich star was unable to get past goalkeeper Yann Sommer when through on goal, while Bryan Mbeumo also had an effort saved with Karl Toko Ekambi blasting the rebound over. And they also had two opportunities snaffled out by the brilliant, last-gasp defending of Silvan Widmer.
Cameroon had been the dominant side, but their lack of cutting edge cost them dearly and once Switzerland got ahead, they were able to comfortably control the rest of the game and should've stretched their lead but for some remarkable scrambled defending from Onana, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and the outstanding Jean-Charles Castelletto.
In the last 14 World Cup matches where Cameroon have fallen behind, they've never managed to claw it back for a victory. And as the first round of games draws to a close, we're still waiting for a goal from one of four African countries, with Ghana to complete the set on Thursday. We've seen all four come exploding out of the blocks in the first half, but unable to get a key foothold of a goal. Senegal failed to break down Netherlands on Monday, eventually losing 2-0. Tunisia held Denmark to a 0-0 draw on Tuesday, with Morocco following suit Wednesday against Croatia. And then Cameroon couldn't get past Switzerland on Thursday.
3. Switzerland need to improve to get through
Cameroon's defending was woeful for Switzerland's winner. Embolo was completely unmarked in the middle, with Nicolas Nkoulou caught ball-watching. And but for a brilliant save from Onana, Ruben Vargas should have added a near-identical second 18 minutes later.
The win is all that mattered for Switzerland, but they looked a team less impressive than the sum of their parts. Though there were flashes of class from the likes of Xhaka, Shaqiri and Vargas, their end product wasn't good enough and they can't rely on counterattacking alone against Serbia and Brazil if they are to progress. And while Embolo got their winner, they need far more from him. There were times where he needed too many touches to get himself set, and in that time, had the ball stolen off him. Their defence also looked shaky at times, requiring some panicked scrambling at the back to prevent Cameroon from breaking through.
Cameroon goalkeeper Andre Onana could do nothing to keep out Breel Embolo's shot. Claudio Villa/Getty Images
Player ratings
Switzerland: Sommer 7, Widmer 7, Elvedi 6, Akanji 6, Rodriguez 7, Xhaka 6, Freuler 8, Sow 6, Vargas 5, Shaqiri 7, Embolo 7
Subs: Frei 6, Okafor 6, Seferovic 6, Rieder 6, Comert 6
Cameroon: Onana 7, Fai 5 , Nkoulou 5, Castelletto 8, Tolo 5, Hongla 6, Gouet 6, Anguissa 6, Mbuemo 6, Ekambi 5, Choupo-Moting 6
Subs: Ondoua 6, Aboubaker 6, Nkoudou 6, Moumi Ngamaleu 6
Best and worst performers
BEST: Remo Freuler
Dictated play well in midfield and did well to marshal the spot in front of the back four with Xhaka and Sow higher up.
WORST: Karl Toko Ekambi
Ekambi had Cameroon's best chance of the match and failed to convert as Widmer marked him out of the game.
Highlights and notable moments
Breel Embolo puts Switzerland on top and decides not to celebrate his goal against Cameroon, his birth country