San Francisco Chronicle

Brazil, Portugal advance to round of 16

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DOHA, Qatar — Struggling and unconvinci­ng without Neymar on the field, Brazil still played well enough to secure a spot in the next round of the World Cup.

The five-time champions overcame the absence of their injured star to beat Switzerlan­d 1-0 with a late goal Monday and make it to the round of 16 with a match to spare in Group G.

“Of course we miss a player like Neymar,” Brazil coach Tite said. “The team loses a lot without him. But we also have other players who can get the job done, as we saw it today."

Casemiro got the only goal in the 83rd minute of a game in which Brazil had difficulti­es creating scoring chances without its main playmaker, who was back at the team hotel getting treatment for a right ankle injury sustained in the opener in Qatar.

Team doctors have not yet given a timetable for Neymar's return — or said whether he will return at all.

Switzerlan­d, which had no attempts on target, needs a win in the last match against Serbia to guarantee its spot in the next stage. A draw may be enough depending on the match between Brazil and Cameroon. Portugal 2, Uruguay 0: Cristiano Ronaldo wheeled away in celebratio­n, acting as though he had scored once again at the World Cup.

Not this time. Instead, it was Bruno Fernandes eventually credited with the first goal that advanced the team out of Group H into into the last 16.

Fernandes curled in a cross from the left that barely went over the head of the leaping Ronaldo and bounced into the far corner of the net in the 54th minute to give Portugal a 1-0 lead. Fernandes added a second from the penalty spot in stoppage time.

Uruguay has one point from two matches and needs to beat Ghana on Friday to stand a chance of advancing. Cameroon 3, Serbia 3: Cameroon staged an impressive comeback in Wakrah. Cameroon was down 3-1 but second-half substitute Vincent Aboubakar sparked the turnaround with a goal and an assist. Each team has one point after two Group G matches.

Ghana 3, South Korea 2: Mohammed Kudus scored twice, including the go-ahead goal after the South Koreans evened the match in the second half, and Ghana staved off eliminatio­n in Al Rayyan. Down 2-0, Cho Guesung scored both of South Korea's goals about three minutes apart early in the second half to even the game at 2-2. The Koreans, who have one point, are close to eliminatio­n.

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