Mexico beat reigning champions Germany, Switzerland hold Brazil and Serbia win
It was a thrilling day at the FIFA World Cup in Russia yesterday as defending champions Germany lost to Mexico 0-1, Switzerland tied the mighty Brazilians 1-1 and Serbia defeated Costa Rica 1-0 in a fast-paced game.
Germany crashed to their first defeat in their opening game of a World Cup since 1982 as Hirving Lozano’s clinical finish earned Mexico a shock 1-0 victory.
The highly-rated PSV Eindhoven forward struck the winner on 35 minutes after a blistering counter-attack at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow as Mexico beat Germany for just the second time in history.
Germany’s preparations for the tournament had been plagued by poor results and controversy, and their problems were magnified in the Russian capital, leaving their proud record of never being eliminated in the group stage of a World Cup already in danger.
And if they finish runners-up to the Mexicans, Germany could be on course to face Brazil in a daunting second-round matchup.
After Sami Khedira lost possession, Javier Hernandez triggered a lightning counter before finding a charging Lozano, who cut inside a covering Ozil and lashed low inside Neuer’s near post to spark deafening roars from the sizeable Mexico support.
Brazil held by Switzerland
Brazil's bid for a sixth World Cup got off to a slow start as Switzerland withstood an early onslaught to snatch a 1-1 draw in Rostov-on-Don.
Brazil’s tag as pre-tournament favourites looked justified in a dominant first-half capped by Philippe Coutinho’s wonder strike to open the scoring.
However, Brazil paid for their failure to kill the game off when Steven Zuber powered home an equaliser from Xherdan Shaqiri’s corner five minutes after the break. The pressure will now be on Brazil to kickstart their campaign when they face Costa Rica on Friday.
Serbia beat Costa Rica in thrilling tie
Aleksandar Kolarov produced a moment of captain’s inspiration, curling home a superb free kick as Serbia got their World Cup Group E campaign up and running with a 1-0 victory over Costa Rica.
With the Central Americans proving a tough nut to crack, Kolarov stepped up to bury a 25M effort from wide on the right, lighting up an otherwise tight game in the southern Russian city of Samara.
Serbia had dominated against a Costa Rica side who rarely threatened after a bright start, but chances were thin on the ground until Kolarov made the breakthrough in the 56th.
