Breel Embolo scored the game’s lone goal against his native Switzerland as Cameroon opened the group stage with a 1-0 loss, the African team’s eighth straight World Cup defeat.
The Indomitable Lions did have opportunities, scoring as many shots on target as their opponents, but they fell just short, so they needed at least a draw against Serbia in their next game.
After Jean-Charles Castelletto opened the scoring, Rigobert Song’s team battled back from a 3-1 deficit to tie the game at 3-3, despite briefly appearing to be headed for an early exit from the tournament.
The second-half goals from Vincent Aboubakar and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting gave Cameroon a chance to play on Friday and demonstrated the tenacity that will be needed if they are to have any chance against one of the tournament favourites.
Song will be hoping that his team can take advantage of Brazil playing a team that may not be as strong as in previous games because they are very likely to advance as group winners, despite the fact that they are still outsiders.
Brazil has successfully qualified for the round of 16 of the World Cup, winning their opening two matches for the first time since 2010, when they advanced to the quarterfinals.
Richarlison of Tottenham Hotspur scored a brace in the second half to give the Selecao a 2-0 victory over Serbia and give them their first win of the tournament without giving up a goal.
Following that, Tite’s team defeated Switzerland, this time by a score of 1-0. Casemiro scored in injury time, which may have surprised some given their abundance of attacking talent.
The two teams’ most recent competitive encounter occurred in the World Cup group stage of 2014, with Brazil winning 4-1 behind goals from Neymar (who scored twice), Fred, and Fernandinho.
That result would be more than sufficient for Selecao on Friday, setting up a matchup against the group’s runner-up, probably either Ghana or Uruguay, in the round of 16.
1×2 Betting Odds
Cameroon are not the favourites to win this one, as they against a team that is the tournament favourite! Their odds of winning stand @ 9.
Brazil already has 6 points and should finish on top of the table. Their odds for 3 victories in a row stand @ 1.43.
The chances of a stalemate according to the market are @ 5.
Cameroon are fighting for their World Cup lives in this must-win encounter, but they just do not have the quality to go toe-to-toe with Brazil. When the African side have to commit more men forward to try and win the game, they are likely to be caught on the break and punished by the five-time World Cup winners!
Total goals over/under
The odds that the total number of goals score will be over 2.5, stands @ 1.78
While the odds that the total number of goals will be under 2.5, stands @ 2.13.
