In the opening encounter of group G, Switzerland handed Cameroon a painful 1-0 defeat at the Al Janoub Stadium.
Switzerland’s goal came from striker Breel Embolo, who coincidentally is of Cameroonian decent.
Cameroon only have themselves to blame and will rue chances missed in the first half.
Karl Toko Ekambi missed a glorious chance in the 10th minute as a rebound fell to his path but saw his effort sail over the cross bar.
Choupo Moting also failed to covert after a smart work from the striker saw him disposes and beat his man for pace but failed to beat the Yann Sommer who made a smart save to deny him.
Cameroon limited Switzerland as the Red Crosses couldn’t muster a shot on target in the first half while Cameroon had 5 attempts on goal – 2 shots where on target while 1 was blocked. The game ended goalless in the first half.
Switzerland came out the brightest in the second half and 3 minutes after the restart Xherdan Shaqiri found Breel Embolo in the middle of the box.
Embolo, a Cameroonian decent, did not celebrate after jabbing home a strong shot beyond the helpless Andre Onana.
For all their good works, Cameroon’s defense switched off at the beginning of the second half and were caught napping as for Switzerland broke the deadlock.
Cameroon didn’t give it a real fight after falling behind and were mostly passive as Switzerland took charge of the second half and controlled proceedings, the introduction of Vicent Aboubakar for Choupo Moting wasn’t effective and eventually it was a straight forward and easy game for Switzerland.
