Late Casemiro goal sees off Swiss as Brazil reach knockout phase
Casemiro came to Brazil's rescue as they left it late to reach the World Cup knockout stage with a 1-0 Group G victory over Switzerland.
The Swiss, who held the Brazilians to a 1-1 draw in Russia four years ago, looked set to repeat the feat until the Manchester United midfielder struck seven minutes from time to claim the points.
Defeat was perhaps harsh on Murat Yakin's men, who had frustrated the five-times winners for long periods to make them feel the absence of injured superstar Neymar, although a point from their final fixture against Serbia would be enough to send them through unless Cameroon pull off a major shock against Brazil on Friday.
Neither keeper had a save of note to make until Yann Sommer had to dive to his right to turn away Vinicius' 27thminute scuffed strike. Thiago Silva prevented Ruben Vargas from turning on Ricardo Rodriguez's ball into the box six minutes before the break but that foray into enemy territory was something of a rarity in the opening 45 minutes.
A Vinicius effort was ruled out for offside against Richarlison earlier in the move following a VAR review but Brazil won it with seven minutes left when Casemiro blasted home a winner with the help of a slight defection off Manuel Akanji's backside.
In Group H, Bruno Ferwith nandes scored both goals as Portugal also booked their last-16 place with a 2-0 win over Uruguay. It seemed Cristiano Ronaldo had drawn level Portugal’s record World Cup goalscorer Eusebio when he went to get his head on Fernandes’ cross but it was ruled to have gone straight in.