Brazil v Switzerland World Cup Group G Betting Guide

The Teams’ Routes to the World Cup

Brazil

The most successful football team in the history of the World Cup has qualified again to excite with their flair and attacking football at the 2022 World Cup. Brazil is the only team that has never failed to qualify for the World Cup finals and this will be their 22nd appearance. No other team has won the World Cup more than Brazil. Will they be dancing the samba in Qatar and win the competition for the 6th time? Brazil has only been knocked out in the first round of the group stage on two occasions. Alongside Brazil, Italy is the only other team to win consecutive World Cup finals. Brazil did just this in Sweden and Chile in 1958 and 1962 respectively. With what was considered the greatest national team of all time, Brazil won again in 1970 with a squad that included Pelé, Jairzinho and Tostäo. In the World Cup of USA 1994, Brazil remained unbeaten over 7 games, winning 5 and drawing 2 when they ultimately beat Italy on penalties after extra time. Their last win came in the jointly held South Korea and Japan World Cup of 2002. This time Brazil was unstoppable winning all seven games to lift the trophy after beating Germany 2 – 0 with Ronaldo scoring a brace. In their last appearance in Russia 2018, Brazil was knocked out in the quarter-finals. To reach the 2022 World Cup Brazil won the CONMEBOL qualification group remaining unbeaten, winning 17 games, winning 14 and drawing 3.   

Switzerland

The Swiss had their golden era in World Cup football between 1934 and 1954. During this period, they reached the quarter-finals on three occasions, during which two World Cups were cancelled due to the second world war. They reached the quarter-finals in the Italian World Cup of 1934, France 1938 and on home soil in the 1954 World Cup. Having been knocked out in the group stage of the 1962 and 1966 World Cup finals, Switzerland failed to qualify again until USA 1994. The 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be the 5th consecutive World Cup Switzerland has qualified for since Germany in 2006. Since then, the best they have managed is the round of 16 and last time in Russia 2018 they played Brazil and drew 1 – 1. Finishing 2nd in the group stage they played Sweden in the round of 16 and lost 1 – 0.

The meeting between Brazil and Switzerland will be the 10th time the two sides have played each other. Brazil has the upper hand with 3 wins while Switzerland has won twice, leaving 4 draws between them. The last time they met was the 2018 World Cup in a 1 – 1 draw with Coutinho scoring for Brazil and Zuber for Switzerland. Both players will likely represent their nation in the 2022 World Cup.  

Current Odds at mr.play

It may be the easy selection to go with a Brazil win, but history tells us that there has not been much between the two sides in their 9 previous meetings. Here at mr.play we have some classic outcome betting opportunities including predicting which team will win or if the game will end in a draw. With Brazil as odds-on favourites, you can currently place a bet on them to win the match against Switzerland at 12/25. Taking a less cautious approach and a wager against a Switzerland win, you can obtain a price at 113/20. On paper, this game will be the toughest test in Group G for both teams. They met in the 2018 World Cup where honours were even in a 1 – 1 draw. If your prediction is a draw then you can obtain odds at 33/10. Whatever you select, there are heaps of other betting markets right here at mr.play for the Group G match between Brazil and Switzerland.

Team Overviews & Player Profiles

Brazil

When thinking about Brazil you tend to forget about their goalkeepers. However, they are also a key part of the team and Alisson will surely be called upon on a handful of occasions, when playing a Swiss team that includes Xherdan Shaqiri. Alisson plays for Liverpool and since joining them in 2018 he has made 137 appearances and even managed to score 1 goal. With Liverpool, he is a winner of the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League. In 2021/2022 he was named in the Professional Footballers Association Team of the Year. He will be invaluable for Brazil if they are to win their 6th World Cup with his positioning, shot stopping and ability to save one on ones. Representing Brazil, he won the Copa América in 2019 and has made a total of 55 appearances.  

Another player that will break up the play of the Swiss is Casemiro. He is regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world with his strength, aggressive tackling and high work rate. At professional club level, he has played for Real Madrid and with them, he is a 5-time UEFA Champions League Winner and 3-time La Liga winner. Just recently a fee of £60 million plus add-ons has been agreed for him to join Manchester United. He has played for Brazil since 2011, playing in the 2018 World Cup and winning the 2019 Copa América. During this time, he has racked up 63 international caps, scoring 5 goals.

Switzerland

When playing against Brazil your goalkeeper is going to have a tough day at the office. Yann Sommer will be that man who will need to remain 100% focused to keep the ball out of the net. He started his professional club career at Basel winning the Swiss Super League 4 times before being signed by Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2014. He has excellent international experience and should be entering his prime years as a goalkeeper having played in the 2014/2018 World Cups and Euro 2016/2020 tournaments amassing 74 caps for his country. In the 2019/2020 Bundesliga season, he was nominated in the team of the season. Sommer will have a key role to play against Brazil.

Aside from the defensive conundrum Switzerland may face when playing Brazil, they will need some unpredictability to confuse the opposition. That unpredictability will come from Xherdan Shaqiri who can play with both feet, has great passing vision and can score goals. He also has experience being the 4th most capped (106) Swiss player and joint 6th highest goal-scorer (26) in the history of the nation. In 2019 he was included in the Nations League Finals Team of the Tournament. He is currently playing in the American MLS with Chicago Fire and previously had a successful spell at Liverpool winning the Champions League in 2018/2019 and Premier League in 2019/2020. On his day he is a potential match winner.

A Match to Look Forward To

Both teams met in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup and the game ended in a draw contributing to their progression to the round of 16. Can either team better one another this time round on what can be deemed the match to watch in Group G. The pre-match tension will only be heightened by the hundreds of betting markets that are available for the match right here at mr.play.