World Cup 2018: Brazil 1-1 Switzerland; 3 key battles that decided the game

#3 Gabriel Jesus vs Manuel Akanji

A disappointing outing for the Brazilian striker

If there is one young defender that you have to keep the eye on in this WC (and for the love of god, stop mentioning Joshua Kimmich), here is Manuel Akanji. Standing an imperial 187 cms, the 22-year-old ensured that Gabriel Jesus never got to call his mom on his imaginary phone.

Gabriel Jesus could never get the service he required in the way Switzerland was set up, and a poor game over-all from Willian on the flanks made it even worse from him. The dearth of crosses from the right, and Neymar being land-locked on the left meant that the Manchester City striker cut a lonely figure for most of the game.

It also did not help that Akanji had the performance of his lifetime, full of confidence and competence. The youngster even had the audacity to nutmeg one opponent during this nonchalant performance, and that's the kind of thing that really grinds the gears of the Brazilians. Along with Schaer, the two centre backs saw to it that nothing penetrated through them - but you cannot do anything about long shots, can you?

Will we see Tite try Firmino in the next game, or will Jesus continue to remain the trusted player for the position? Interesting questions for us, but sleepless nights for the man in question.

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