The yes vu! Brazil will be clear favourites, Serbia looking to prove a point, while Switzerland showed they are no pushovers… with the World Cup’s Group D looking almost IDENTICAL to the 2018 draw, what can any team learn from Qatar to enter?
Brazil, Switzerland and Serbia are back in the same group at the World Cup
The three teams were also all in the same group during the 2018 World Cup
Cameroon is the only difference to replace Costa Rica in the group for 2022
Sports post see how the teams fared against each other in 2018
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It almost feels like a de-ja-vu, because Brazil, Switzerland and Serbia are in the same group again.
The three teams were all placed in the same group during the 2018 World Cup and the exact same thing has happened again this time.
The only difference is that Costa Rica has been replaced by Cameroon for Qatar’s 2022 showpiece.
Four years ago, the two best teams, Brazil and Switzerland, advanced to the round of 16. The question now is whether we can read too much into the last World Cup to determine how Group G will play out.
Sports post takes a look at how the teams just stacked up against each other in 2018 and what the favorites Brazil and the others learned from those matches.
Brazil, Switzerland and Serbia are all in the same group again, just like in 2018 (picture Brazil takes on the Swiss – who finished 1-1 four years ago)
BRAZIL REMAIN FAVORITES
Brazil remains the favorite and is expected to top the group again, just like they did in 2018.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing though, as they managed to win just two of their three group stage clashes. One is a draw with Switzerland.
They started with a 1-1 draw against the Swiss after Philippe Coutinho opened the scoring in the 20th minute, but his effort was negated by Steven Zuber after five minutes of the second half.
Brazil will be clear favorites to top the group, just like they did against similar teams in 2018
Brazil cashed in with a 2-0 win over Costa Rica in their second appearance. Coutinho and Neymar both scored stoppage time goals in the 91st and 97th minutes respectively after struggling to find the net in normal time.
They closed the group stage with another 2-0 win over Serbia, with Paulinho and Thiago Silva on the scoresheet.
Tite’s side then sealed a win over Mexico in the knockout stages before crashing to Belgium in the quarter-finals with a 2-1 defeat.
Brazil has more options on offense and throughout the squad this time around, but should have learned not to take anyone lightly, especially Switzerland.
SERVI HAS A POINT TO PROVE
Serbia will be determined to prove a point this time after struggling with just one win and two defeats four years ago.
It all started well for the Serbs as they kicked off the 2018 World Cup with a narrow 1-0 win over Costa Rica thanks to left-back Aleksandar Kolarov.
However, it went downhill against both Brazil and Switzerland, who they will face again. Therefore, they will be happy to show that they are better than last time.
Serbia has a point to prove this time after finishing at the bottom of the group in 2018
Losing 2-1 to Switzerland and 2-0 to Brazil to finish bottom of Group E. Serbia has improved dramatically over the past four years with much more depth in their roster.
Aleksandar Mitrovic is having a great season for Fulham in the Premier League and also producing on the international stage.
Mitrovic, along with Juventus forward Dusan Vlahovic, is an attack to scare everyone, let alone the midfield options of Filip Kostic, Dusan Tadic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
They will know that they have the ability to perform and get better results than last time, especially if their recent performances have nothing more to offer.
SWITZERLAND ARE NOT PUSHOVERS
Switzerland hopes once again to prove that they are not pushovers after going against the odds to level with Brazil and move out of the group stage as second.
It was a dream start for the Swiss as they held their ground against Brazil to take a 1-1 draw thanks to Zuber’s equalizing goal in their opening game.
They went from strength to strength with a 2-1 win over Serbia in their second match with goals from Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri.
Switzerland hopes for similar fortunes after finishing second in the group in 2018
In the final game, they tied for a 2-2 draw with Costa Rica to cement their place in the league’s last-16.
The magical journey for Switzerland ended at the next hurdle with a 1-0 loss to Sweden when Emil Forsberg scored in the 66th minute of the game.
Switzerland hopes four years later for the same success against both Brazil and Serbia. This time they have a new challenge against Cameroon instead of Costa Rica is the only difference.
They will know that they can compete and challenge everyone in the group again, just like last time.
Cameroon are the newcomers to the group replacing Costa Rice as the fourth team of 2018