Vincent Aboubakar headed the winner in stoppage time and then was sent off as Cameroon posted a memorable 1-0 win over favorites Brazil in the World Cup on Friday, but still failed to progress to the round of 16 .
Aboubakar, who had broken into captain Rigobert Song’s team, hit substitute Jerome Ngom Mbekeli’s cross to break the tie in the 92nd minute at Doha’s Lusail Stadium.
He was booked for removing his shirt in the festivities that followed and, warned, had to leave his teammates to watch the rest of the game.
They did so to record a famous victory, but Switzerland’s 3-2 win over Serbia at the same time meant Switzerland progressed from Group G along with already qualified Brazil.
Having won their first two games in Qatar, Brazil topped the group and advanced to a round of 16 tie against South Korea when their many key players who rested for this game return.
Coach Tite sent a second team and the result was Brazil’s first loss in a World Cup group stage since 1998, when they were beaten by Norway.
Martinelli impresses
Tite’s mind was on the knockout stage here as he made nine changes, including giving the 39-year-old Dani Alves a start, making him the oldest men’s international player in Brazil’s history.
The backbone of Brazil’s second-string team still featured Manchester City’s Ederson in goal, Real Madrid’s Eder Militao in central defense, Liverpool’s Fabinho in midfield, and Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus supported by Rodrygo up front.
They also had 21-year-old Gabriel Martinelli on the left and the Arsenal prospect was their standout player.
He came close to scoring the opener in the 14th minute when he jumped unmarked, but saw his header deflected by Cameroonian goalkeeper Devis Epassy. Martinelli also threatened in the discount of the first part with a dribble on the edge of the area and a shot that Epassy deflected.
It was a play reminiscent of Neymar, who is still recovering from the sprained ankle that forced him out in the opening 2-0 win over Serbia, but watched the action here from behind the Brazilian bench.
Brazilian fans, who unfurled a “Get well soon” banner for Pele, cheered wildly as Neymar appeared on the screens inside the massive stadium.
Needing a win, Cameroon nearly took the lead in first-half stoppage time when Bryan Mbeumo’s header forced a save from Ederson.
Brazil had won all seven of their previous meetings with African opponents at the World Cup, including defeating Cameroon in 1994 and again in 2014, and Martinelli was their most likely source of goal.
He forced Epassy to bring down another shot headed for the top corner early in the second half, and the Cameroon keeper, continuing in place of Andre Onana, who was brought down for unspecified disciplinary reasons, deflected a shot from Militao around the area. post moments later.
Wanting to study all his attacking options, Tite sent the Flamengo duo of Everton Ribeiro and Pedro, but also saw Alex Telles leave injured in the second half.
Telles is the third Brazilian full-back to succumb to injury in the tournament after Danilo and Alex Sandro.
At this rate, Alves, a year shy of his 40th birthday, will have one more role to play in Qatar.
Most importantly, Brazil hopes to have Neymar back soon, but whether he will play South Korea on Monday remains to be seen.
Aboubakar scored the late winner just as a goalless draw seemed the most likely outcome, and Cameroon deserves huge credit for taking four points from such a tough group, even if they go home now.
Switzerland beat Serbia in energetic duel
Switzerland booked a round of 16 showdown with Portugal at the World Cup on Friday after a 3-2 win over Serbia in a moody game that secured them second place in Group G.
Xherdan Shaqiri’s deflected shot put the Swiss ahead but Aleksandar Mitrovic’s fine header put Serbia level at Stadium 974.
Dusan Vlahovic then gave Serbia the lead only for Breel Embolo to equalize before half time.
Remo Freuler’s brilliant goal early in the second half sent the Swiss into the knockout rounds for the fourth time in five World Cups.
Bad blood marked the meeting between the teams at the 2018 tournament, when Granit Xhaka and Shaqiri celebrated goals with pro-Kosovar gestures that angered the Serbs.
Tempers flared in the second half on Friday after Serbia appealed a penalty, with the stadium announcer calling for an end to “all discriminatory chants and gestures” some 15 minutes later.
Switzerland, with their fate in their own hands, nearly scored on 30 seconds, but Embolo’s effort was well blocked by Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, who thwarted Xhaka’s follow-up.
Serb Andrija Zivkovic hit the post from distance with a sweet curling effort and Vlahovic sent the rebound straight into the arms of goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.
Shaqiri hits
Shaqiri missed Switzerland’s 1-0 loss to Brazil but came back with a bang when he shot his side up front on 20 minutes.
Ricardo Rodríguez fired a cross into the box that was cleared straight to Djibril Sow, who dismissed Shaqiri to sweep through Strahinja Pavlovic’s leg in front of the Serbian crowd.
This time there was no double eagle gesture. Instead, Shaqiri put his finger to his lips and pointed to her name on her shirt as she rained down a handful of bottles.
Serbia struck back within minutes as Switzerland fumbled in midfield, Dusan Tadic leaning in a cross for Mitrovic to find himself magnificently and header into the far corner.
Shaqiri deflected under pressure from Pavlovic after timing his run perfectly to find Rodriguez’s diagonal pass, but the Swiss paid for another lapse in concentration.
They relinquished possession and Freuler watched in dismay as his interception attempt only served to get Vlahovic to roll the ball past Kobel.
But Switzerland equalized a minute before half-time when Sow picked Silvan Widmer into acres of space on the right and Embolo converted his low cross.
The Cameroonian-born striker’s pressure on a lumbering Pavlovic gave Switzerland their third goal just after halftime, a brilliant team effort finished off by Freuler.
Shaqiri finished off a delicate ball after Embolo retrieved it high, and Rubén Vargas’ muffled backheel left Freuler to guide from around the penalty spot.
Serbia appealed to no avail for a penalty as Mitrovic theatrically fell to the ground, causing an ugly climax that led to Serbia’s substitute goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic being booked.
Substitute Christian Fassnacht squandered a late chance to calm Swiss nerves when he hit squarely on goal.
An unseemly spat between Xhaka and Nikola Milenkovic threatened to boil over, but in the end the Swiss went too far to make an appointment with Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal.
