What happened in Group G

The World Cup continues. As the round of 16 has started, we can look back and reflect upon results and teams that have progressed to the latter stages of the competition. We overview and look at what happened in Group G.

Looking at what happened in Group G can help World Cup Fantasy managers prepare for next round ahead. Overviewing the results, player performances and key fantasy assets can aid in important factors like transfers, captaincy and chip strategy.

We can see from the table below that Brazil and Switzerland have progressed to the next stage of the World Cup. We can also see that Cameroon and Serbia have failed to progress.

Group G

Brazil

Brazil were favourites to win the group and that was the case. They face Serbia in Matchday 1 and struggled to break them down for most of the game. Their persistence was rewarded when striker Richarlison (£7.5m) scored. Brazil went onto kill the game after a fantastic strike by Richarlison, created by striker Vinicius Junior (£10.5m).

Switzerland lay ahead for Brazil but the Swiss were determined and much harder to break down that Serbia. Again, the Brazilians persistence paid off but it wasn’t until the 83rd minute. Midfielder Casemiro (£6m) scored and was assisted by striker Rodrygo (£8.5m). Brazil won 1-0 and totalled six points heading into Matchday 3.

Brazil knew they were certain to qualify and likely to win the group regardless result and so rotated key players. Although full of quality, Brazil’s second team could not perform. They lost the game 1-0 against Cameroon, but still won the group.

Conclusion

Brazil look fantastic offensively and have plenty of attacking options at their disposal. Defensively, the Brazilians look strong and that is reflected in the fact they kept two clean sheets from their three matches. Richarlison does look like the focal point of the attack and could be the standout option in World Cup Fantasy moving forward.

Switzerland

Switzerland faced Cameroon in Matchday 1, and it was a very open match. Both sides had chances throughout the game, but Cameroon failed to convert. The Swiss persevered and scored. The goal came from striker Breel Embolo (£6.5m) and was created by midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri (£7.5m). Switzerland won the game 1-0 and banked three points going into Matchday 2.

The toughest task of the group stages lay ahead for Switzerland as they had to play Brazil. Switzerland were well organised throughout the game and looked dead set to collect a point. However, they could not keep Brazil out and conceded towards the end of the game.

Switzerland needed something from their match against Serbia in Matchday 3. The match was manic. Switzerland scored early on, and it was Xherdan Shaqiri that put them ahead after midfielder Mohameth Sow (£5m) assisted. Serbia responded with two goals meaning Switzerland were losing the match, but the Swiss created a response of their own when Breel Embolo scored via defender Silvan Widmer’s (£4.5m) assist. Switzerland calmy pushed and eventually midfielder Remo Freuler (£5m) scored from striker Ruben Vargas’s (£6m) assist. Switzerland hung on and won the game 3-2, qualifying for the next round.

Conclusion

Switzerland showed huge quality whilst progressing through a tough group. Their key players Breel Embolo and Xherdan Shaqiri stood out with their goal contributions but their defence, although strong at times is a concern.

Cameroon

Cameroon faced Switzerland in Matchday 1 and were really exciting to watch. Many fans did question why striker Vincent Aboubakar (£8m) did not start the game and his miss was evident. Cameroon failed to convert the chances they did have and were punished as they lost the game 1-0.

Cameroon went into Matchday 2 needing a result against Serbia and the African side got off to a great start. Defender Jean-Charles Castelletto (£4m) scored the first goal, but their opponents responded with two goals before half time. Cameroon’s pain did not end there as Serbia scored again. But this time they responded and after finally being introduced, Vincent Aboubakar made an immediate impact by scoring via a Jean-Charles Castelletto assist. Aboubakar proved too much for Serbia and provided the assist for striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting’s (£7.5m) goal. The match ended 3-3 and the African’s collected their first point of the World Cup.

Cameroon needed a win and results in the other match to go their way to have any chance of progressing. Cameroon did well against a heavily rotated Brazil side and came away as 1-0 winners after Vincent Aboubakar proved his quality again with the only goal of the match, assisted by defender Jerome Mbekeli (£3.5m).

Conclusion

Cameroon were exciting to watch but excluding Vincent Aboubakar in the first match and not starting him in the second proved detrimental towards their results. There can be no doubt that if the striker was more involved in Matchday 1 and Matchday 2, Cameroon could have progressed.

Serbia

Serbia came into the tournament as dark horses but failed to live up to fans expectations. The Serbians did well to keep Brazil out for most of their Matchday 1 game but could not get over the line with a draw. Serbia crumbled and conceded two goals in the second half to lose the match 2-0.

Cameroon lay ahead for Serbia in Matchday 2. It was a poor start for them after conceding early but they reacted exceptionally. The Serbian’s equalised with defender Pavlovic’s goal (£4m), created by midfielder Dusan Tadic (8m). Serbia continued the pressure after a second goal came from midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (£7m) whilst the assist was created by midfielder Andrija Zivkovic (£5m). Serbia went onto secure a third goal from striker Aleksander Mitrovic (£7m) and assisted by Andrija Zivkovic. However, they could not hold the lead and ended up drawing 3-3.

Matchday 3 arrived, and Serbia needed a win against Switzerland to have any chance of progressing. It was another manic game for Serbia, they conceded early again and reacted as well as they did in Matchday 2 by scoring. Their equaliser came from Aleksander Mitrovic and was created by Dusan Tadic. They scored again to give them the lead via striker Dusan Vlahovic (£8.5m). However, also similar to Matchday 3, the Serbians fell to pieces and ended up losing the match 3-2.

Conclusion

Serbia were impressive at times and key players Duan Tadic and Aleksander Mitrovic became key to the goals they did score. However, after taking the lead twice in two different matches, reflected their inexperience to hold results and dropped points from the worst possible way.