Aboubakar’s smash and grab stuns Samba stars
But Brazil bag top spot despite defeat
THe camera swept to neymar, as was always going to be the case. the national anthem was in full swing and there was the golden boy, belting out the words from underneath a baseball cap as if he was ready to go to battle.
When the camera swept to him again, in injury time, he was emotional again but for entirely different reasons. Cameroon, through a quite magnificent Vincent aboubakar header, had continued this theme of world Cup shocks and inflicted a scarcely believable defeat on the favourites.
What is it about the lusail Stadium? argentina melted here in their first game against Saudi arabia and now Brazil fell into the trap set by the indomitable lions and ended up being eaten. they are a different proposition without neymar and everyone knows it.
Fortunately, this defeat did not cost them top spot and they will head to Stadium 974 on Monday to tackle South Korea in the last 16 but it is looking increasingly likely they will be without neymar, whose injured ankle isn’t healing as swiftly as Brazil would hope.
Unfortunately for Cameroon, meanwhile, this enormous scalp — not quite on a par with their victory against argentina in 1990 but not far behind — stood for nothing. they needed a Serbia goal against Switzerland to put them through as runners-up but they must now head home.
Behind a goal before kick-off, a giant banner was unfurled to send a message to Pele, who is recovering after his health scare, but if neymar continues to be absent, there will be banners for him, too. this was supposed to be his crowning tournament but it continues to pass him by.
How it would have been a joy to see the Paris Saint-Germain star in full cry here though part of you feels the sidelines were actually the best place for him in a scratchy, scruffy encounter that was prevented from ever taking shape by Cameroon’s negativity.
For all the pomp and colour in the stands and the enthusiasm of the thousands who were dressed in yellow and green, Brazil couldn’t find a way to hammer home their superiority after enjoying oceans of possession. they would eventually pay the heaviest price.
With qualification long since secured, this was always going to be a night when tite made changes and so it proved with nine new faces coming into the side that had beaten Switzerland. Usually, that hinders a team in terms of quality but Brazil are different.
This isn’t getting bogged down in nostalgia, either, or being seduced by the shirt. Yes, the presence of dani alves distorts the figure slightly but it still speaks volumes for a squad’s second Xi when it features nine men who have won domestic titles and their combined haul is 104 major honours.
Even accounting for the veteran alves, one of life’s more colourful souls, it was still one of the youngest sides ever selected by Brazil at a world Cup, featuring arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli, Rodrygo of Real Madrid and Manchester United maverick antony.
The curmudgeons don’t like antony’s penchant for ostentatious and elaborate skills but, in a challenging first period for viewers, he was happy to entertain with his first contribution being a cushioned pass after doing a stepover to receive possession.
There was another one right before the break, an elaborate way to give a pass back to Fred, and it prompted whoops and hollers from the crowd. if you come to watch Brazil, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with expecting to be entertained and antony was prepared to do it.
The only problem was they faced opponents who were prepared to shut down the contest, by defending in numbers and committing fouls to halt play. tite had been asked about this last Sunday, with regard to neymar being targeted, but there seemed to be a specific policy adopted here.
It was that kind of game. Brazil had a lot of possession but they couldn’t find the ball to slice Cameroon open and the closest they came to a breakthrough was via Martinelli, whose header was saved by devis epassy in the sixth minute before the goalkeeper turned another shot of his away in the 44th minute.
For all they prodded and probed, the irony was actually that Cam
eroon had the best opportunity of the lot when, on the stroke of half-time, Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo arrived at the back post to plant a header that appeared to be deceiving Ederson before he flicked out his hand.
A superb save — you wouldn’t expect anything else from a man of his calibre — and you could see he enjoyed it, too, as he had previously been restricted to basically firing short passes into Fabinho and Fred to start attacks. He was back to doing that at the start of the second period.
It was about huff and puff from there on, Brazil passing in patterns around Cameroon’s area but finding niggling challenges and green shirts in their way. A foul from Aboubakar earned a yellow card and it had consequences.
Deep into stoppage time, he provided the ultimate suckerpunch with a marvellous header and, in his joy, he ripped off his shirt to celebrate and was promptly expelled.
Up in the stands, Neymar appeared bereft. How Brazil could do with their talisman back.
CAMEROON CAME (4-2-3-1): Epassy 7; Collins 7, Wooh 88, Ebosse 8.5, Tolo 7; Kunde 7, Anguissa 7; Mbuemo 6 (Toko-Ekambi 64min, 7), ChupChupo-Motting 6, Ngamaleu 6; AbAboubakarbk 7.
Scorer: Aboubakar 90+2.
Booked: Tolo, Kunde, Fai, Aboubakar.
Sent off: Aboubakar.
Manager: Rigobert Song 7.
BRAZIL (4-2-3-1): Ederson 7; Dani Alves 6, Militao 6, Bremer 6, Alex Telles 6 (Marquinhos 55, 6); Fred 6 (Guimares 55, 5), Fabinho 5; Antony 6, Rodrygo 6 (Everton 55, 5), Martinelli 6; Gabriel Jesus 6 (Pedro 65, 5). Booked: Militao, Guimaraes.
Manager: Tite 5.
Referee: Ismail Elfath (USA) 6. Attendance: 85,986.