Match Lineups

Brazil

Alisson; Danilo, Thiago Silva, Miranda, Marcelo; Paulinho, Casemiro, Coutinho; Willian, Gabriel Jesus, Neymar

Switzerland

Sommer; Lichtsteiner, Schär, Akanji, Rodríguez; Behrami, Xhaka; Shaqiri, Dzemaili, Zuber; Seferovic

Brazil vs. Switzerland Top Story Lines

• Brazil actually struggled in qualifying initially, earning just nine points from six games and sitting in sixth place (out of 10) in the South American qualifying group. So the Brazilian federation fired its manager, Dunga, and brought in Tite, and the Brazilian squad started to look like the one we all know and love: going unbeaten and becoming the first national team to book a spot in Russia (beside Russia itself).

• Switzerland’s route to Russia was a bit more fraught and featured quite a bit more controversy. The Swiss finished behind Portugal in their European group, and went on to play Northern Ireland in a two-leg playoff. The lone goal across both matches came after a dubious penalty call against Northern Ireland after a ball appeared to bounce off the back of defender Corry Evans. Switzerland converted the penalty and advanced on a 1-0 aggregate score, leaving Northern Ireland fuming. Noted Switzerland supporter Roger Federer, though, found it amusing.

• Brazil is a popular pick to win this tournament, and shouldn’t have any trouble escaping this group. A 1-0 win at Germany in March suggests that Brazil can take on the European elite.

• This is the fourth straight World Cup that Switzerland has qualified for, but it has not made it past the Round of 16 since 1954. Can it break its habit of qualifying for major tournaments, emerging from the group stage, and then being knocked out in a mind-numbingly dull game?

• All eyes will be on Neymar, the 26-year-old Brazilian star. The Brazilian manager, Tite, doesn’t have a designated captain in an effort to emphasize unity, but this is undeniably Neymar’s team.

Some Pregame Reading

• A survey published this month by the Datafolha polling firm showed that 53 percent of Brazilians said they were not interested in the World Cup this year, the highest rate since the question was first asked in 1994