Brazil, best on view
The five-time world champion had already qualified for the Round of 16, before its upset loss to Cameroon in the last group game.
Brazil was the clear favourite to top this group, and the five-time FIFA World Cup champion did not disappoint. Brazil was the best side on view, save for a 0-1 upset at the hands of Cameroon in the last game. But by this stage, Brazil was guaranteed a spot in the knockouts. It took an injury time goal from Vincent Aboubakar to put Cameroon ahead, but the win was not enough for the African side to gain a spot in the next round.
Brazil had a scare early in the campaign, when Neymar suffered an ankle injury during the opening game against Serbia. The star player missed the remaining group games. Fortunately for Brazil, the squad was packed with enough talent to compensate for Neymar’s absence.
There was a hard-fought race to grab the second qualifying spot. It came down to two evenly-matched sides in Serbia and Switzerland.
On the last day of the group matches, Switzerland held its nerve to record a 3-2 win and qualify for the next round.
Serbia’s poor World Cup record — since competing as an independent nation in 2010 — continued. Despite the presence of a robust group of players, the side has failed to make it past the group stage in all three of its World Cup appearances (2010, 2018 and 2022).
Switzerland, on the other hand, was consistent once again. Granit Xhaka’s men ensured that the side made it to the knockout round for a third consecutive time.
Cameroon, the underdog, put on a spirited show. The side recovered splendidly from a 0-1 loss to Switzerland to salvage a 3-3 draw against Serbia.
Down 1-3, Cameroon clawed back with goals from Aboubakar and Eric Maxim Choupo-moting. A 1-0 win over Brazil showed that the African nation, which famously made a fairytale quarterfinal run in the 1990 World Cup, is still a force to reckon with.