Cameroon beat Brazil but bow

Cameroon ........ 1 Brazil ............... 0 OHA -

DA late goal by skipper Vincent Aboubakar ended Cameroon’s 20-year wait for a win at the World Cup as the Indomitable Lions bowed out in style by beating a much-changed Brazil 1-0 at the Lusail Stadium last night.

With qualification already in the bag after wins over Serbia and Switzerland, Brazil still won Group G, ahead of Switzerland on goal difference, and will face Group H runners-up South Korea, who beat Portugal 2-1, in the next round. Cameroon, whose last win at the World Cup was in 2002 against Saudi Arabia, were on the back foot for most of the match but sprung to life at the death. Aboubakar powered a header past Ederson then was sent off for collecting a second yellow for taking off his jersey in celebration. The win was Cameroon’s first against Brazil at the World Cup and the South American giants’ first defeat by African opposition at the finals. Brazil had by far the larger share of possession and carved out many more chances than their opponents, but in the end it was Cameroon who got the only statistic that actually counts.

Elsewhere, Switzerland reached the World Cup knockout round for the third successive tournament after prevailing 3-2 over Serbia to finish runners-up in Group G and set up a last 16 showdown with Portugal. In a contest that ebbed and flowed at breakneck speed in the first half at Stadium 974, Xherdan Shaqiri put Switzerland ahead but Serbia swiftly scored twice within 10 minutes through Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic to flip the game on its head. Breel Embolo delivered another twist in an absorbing opening period by pulling Switzerland side level just before the break, while Remo Freuler scored three minutes after the restart to restore their one-goal advantage again.