Manchester United midfielder, Casemiro, fired Brazil into the knockout stages of the 2022 World Cup finals with a 1-0 victory over Switzerland.

Casemiro’s spectacular goal in the 83rd minute sent Brazil through with a game to spare in the World Cup Group G.

With Neymar missing the game due to an ankle injury, the five-time champions laboured for long periods of the match as they struggled to break down the determined defensive set up of their Group G opponents.

Vinicius Jnr had looked the most likely to make the breakthrough and saw a second-half strike ruled out by VAR with Richarlison offside earlier in the move.

READ ALSO: World Cup: Ghana defeat South Korea 3-2

But with just seven minutes of the 90 remaining, Casemiro latched onto Rodrygo’s smart flick from Vinicius’ pass inside and slammed home with the help of a glancing deflection off Manuel Akanji.

The two previous World Cup meetings between the two sides had ended in draws – 2-2 in 1950, and 1-1 in 2018.

The Brazilians had only won three of their nine match-ups with Switzerland in total, with four drawn and two losses.

The thrilling 3-3 draw between Serbia and Cameroon earlier in the day means Brazil, with two wins from two matches, are guaranteed a top two spot, although Switzerland – sitting on three points – will need a win in their final group game with Serbia to guarantee their progress.

The Star