Brazil plays poorly, ties with Switzerland in opener

The Brazilian squad performed poorly and tied with Switzerland 1-1 in the first round of Group E in the World Cup on Sunday (Jun. 17). Brazil had a good first half-time, as Philippe Coutinho opened the scoring with a goal from off the box. Nonetheless, Switzerland—Brazil’s first opponent in the tournament—scored early in the second half, whereas Brazil lacked what it took to hit a winner.

Despite an unimpressive first half, Mexican Referee César Ramos proved crucial for the final result—he failed to acknowledge a foul against Miranda.

Neymar also underperformed, and was fouled multiple times.

Swiss Embassy

Since early in the afternoon, the atmosphere at the Swiss Embassy in Brasília was marked by friendliness and enjoyment. During a lunch offered to the Swiss living in Brasília, Ambassador Andrea Semadeni guessed a 2-1 victory on Switzerland’s side or a 1-1 draw. The red caps, solar panels, and the green grass helped ease the heat among football fans gathered up in front of the screen set up for the occasion.

Semadeni’s ceremony to the Swiss community in the Brazilian capital saw giveaways handed out to participants who gave the right answers to a quiz on the Brazilian and Swiss teams. Swiss Consul-General to Brazil Gabriel Torrent asked the questions, encouraging guests to talk about the performance of the two countries in the qualification as well as previous World Cups.