The last group to conclude at the FIFA World Cup is Group G and it does so on Friday night when we find out whether the tournament favourites Brazil can move into the knockout stage with a perfect record when they go up against Cameroon.
Despite just one point from their opening two matches there is a way that Cameroon can come out of the group but it involves them winning and the other match resulting in a Serbia win by less than the Africans win by.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the ITV 1 channel for those who are in the UK. The build-up for this one begins at 6.15pm with the kick off at 7pm.
Cameroon
Cameroon were involved in the match of the tournament in their previous match against Serbia where Rigobert Song seemed to stumble on his best attacking options. It looked like Cameroon were going to make a fairly tame exit from the tournament when they were 3-1 down to Serbia and looking like they were a beaten side, but to their credit they found a spark and if anyone was going to win that match when they got it back to 3-3 it looked like being them.
Unfortunately for them they couldn’t find that winner and now their task to get out of the group is a very daunting one. It involves beating Brazil and that isn’t going to be easy. The good thing is they have nothing to lose in the match so they can just get their attacking shape right and have a good go at getting something from the game. Morocco and Senegal have qualified from the Africa region already and Tunisia beat France in their last game so Cameroon have plenty of inspiration should they need it.
Brazil
We saw the best of Brazil in their first match and while we didn’t really see them hit those heights in their second one against Switzerland, they managed to get the job done in what was a pretty low-key performance where the verve of the opening game was missing. Whether that was because they had broken the back of the group and didn’t want to do what Japan did and undo a load of good work only they will know but I think everyone would rather see more of the Brazil we got against Serbia.
I did mention ahead of that match with Switzerland that Brazil have a history of not playing well without Neymar so their struggles in that outing did nothing to put my mind at rest in that regard. They won’t need him here though because they have qualified for the next stage regardless of what happens here and it would take an unlikely set of results for them not to win the group so this is just a game they need to play out ahead of the main part of the tournament.
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Team News
Cameroon boss Rigobert Song must decide whether to start with his captain Vincent Aboubakar, who had a huge impact off the bench against Serbia, and whether to partner him with Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting in an attacking line-up.
Brazil boss Tite has confirmed he will make changes to his side and that 39-year-old Dani Alves will come into the team and captain it. There is no Neymar anyway but the front line could all be rotated while Thiago Silva is expected to sit this one out as well.
Betting
I think this one is another of these final round of matches that is setup for goals. Cameroon know they have to take the game to Brazil as they have to win the match so it makes absolutely no sense for them not to go down swinging. Whether Brazil are a side you want to go swinging against is open to debate but the point is that Cameroon have no choice. You would imagine Brazil will be well aware of that and will pick a side to do some damage on the counter.
Brazil are going to make changes for this match which might leave them a little more exposed defensively but there is so much attacking talent in this squad, many of whom will be chomping at the bit to show their worth, that I really don’t see the standard dropping off in forward areas. In fact, given the motivation of those to show they can do a job in the knockout stages it might even get higher here. I expect a number of goals in this one.
Tips
Back Over 2.75 goals for a 3/10 stake at 1.97 with Bet365
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