Apologetic Embolo gives Swiss narrow win over Cameroon
Switzerland edged Cameroon 1-0 courtesy of a goal against the run of play by apologetic Breel Embolo versus the country of his birth for an opening win in World Cup Group G at the Al Janoub Stadium on Thursday.
Embolo, born in Yaounde but raised in Basel, struck three minutes after the restart from a Xherdan Shaqiri cutback.
The 25-year-old refused to celebrate the goal on his 60th international appearance, lifting his hands in the air and frowning as the small group of Swiss fans cheered wildly.
Swiss coach Murat Yakin praised his team’s overall display.
“This was a mature performance with a lot of solidarity from the entire team,” he said.
The Switzerland goal came after Cameroon had dominated the first half, missing several good chances to take the lead.
The Indomitable Lions, who eliminated Algeria in a playoff to qualify for the tournament, had outplayed the Swiss in the first 45 minutes with quick combinations, speed and power as their opponents remained toothless up front.
They carved out their first chance after 10 minutes with Bryan Mbeumo testing goalkeeper Yann Sommer before Karl Toko Ekambi sent his rebound over the bar.
The Swiss were in trouble again a little later with in-form forward Eric Maxim Choupo-moting snatching the ball from an opponent to charge into the box only for Sommer to block his effort.
In search of their first win at a World Cup in 20 years, Cameroon were bolder, taking on their opponents in one-on-one situations, while the Swiss rarely managed to get into the African side’s box.
Switzerland, who reached the last 16 in the two previous World Cups, struck at the start of the second half with veteran Shaqiri cutting into the area and Embolo tapping in what proved to be the winner.
An almost identical move just past the hour almost saw the Swiss score again but Ruben Vargas’s shot was pushed wide by keeper Andre Onana to keep his team in the game.
Cameroon failed to replicate their firsthalf performance, failing to seriously threaten Sommer, and were lucky not to concede another in stoppage time through Haris Seferovic.
“The next match is decisive for us. We have to create opportunities,” Cameroon coach Rigobert Song said.
“But we remain with our heads held high and know that anything is possible.”
The Swiss next play Brazil on Monday with Cameroon taking on Serbia.
In the other early game on Thursday, Uruguay defender Diego Godin and midfielder Federico Valverde both hit the woodwork as the South Americans were held to a 0-0 draw by South Korea in their opening Group H game.
Wearing a black mask to protect a facial fracture, Son Heung-min started for the South Koreans, yet it was team-mate Hwang Ui-jo who came closest to breaking the deadlock, but he scooped his shot over the bar with the goal at his mercy.
The best chance of a pulsating first half fell to Uruguay captain Godin, whose glancing header from a corner hit the foot of the lefthand post just before the break.
Valverde fired a stinging shot in the final minute of regulation time that hit the top of the post as the two sides battled to a stalemate in front of a crowd of 41,663.
Meanwhile, Belgium coach Roberto Martinez was happy with what he called a deserved 1-0 win over Canada in World Cup Group F on Wednesday despite the “worst technical performance” of his six-year tenure.
After Argentina and Germany lost their opening games, Belgium came close to suffering another major upset but the team who finished third at the 2018 World Cup top the group by two points from Croatia and Morocco.
“Was it technically the worst performance? Yes. The worst game? No, because it’s a win at the World Cup. We had to show a different side of our game and had to defend really well,” Martinez told a news conference.
“And we took a very good goal. You need to give huge respect to Canada’s performance and what we did is that we didn’t do well what we were supposed to do while they did well what they were supposed to do. But we deserve the win.”
There is obviously huge room for improvement for Belgium, who were pale shadows of the brilliant side that reached the last four in Russia four years ago.
“We have to be self-critical and improve. But it’s better to do it when you have three points, especially after seeing what happened (to Argentina and Germany),” Martinez said.
Midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, however, was plainly dissatisfied and the man-ofmatch award he received did little to console him.