Barcelona World Cup Spotlight: Raphinha and Brazil through to the knockouts | OneFootball

On Monday, fans were treated to one of the most exhilarating days of the FIFA World Cup 2022. Not many people would have expected things to pan out like this but we were treated to an absolute spectacle in all the games.

Cameroon and Serbia who faced off in the first kick-off of the day set the tone for the kind of day we were going to be witnessing. Cameroon led 1-0 early on only to see Serbia pull two goals in stoppage time before the end of the first half.

Serbia quickly made it 3-1 after the break and were looking comfortable to hold on to the lead. The African nation then made a comeback for the ages scoring twice in two minutes to make the score 3-3 which is how the game ended.

South Korea took on Ghana in an important clash and this game ended 3-2 in favour of the Africans. However, the drama in the game cannot be explained in words and it was hands down one of the best games in this tournament yet.

Ghana were leading 2-0 at halftime and looked fairly comfortable only to see the Asian nation pull back a couple of goals in quick succession. The African country took the lead again to make the score 3-2 and then held on despite an absolute onslaught of Korean attacks towards the end of the game.

The next game featured two quality teams in Brazil and Switzerland, but paled in comparison to the two matches that were played before. Ultimately, Tite’s side did manage to eke out a narrow 1-0 win thanks to a Casemiro goal and book a place in the Round of 16.

The biggest game of the day at least on paper was the last one to be played with Euro 2016 Champions Portugal taking on Uruguay in a game that promised a lot. A 2-0 victory sent Cristiano Ronaldo & co. through to the knockouts.

Although not many Barcelona players were in action tonight, we at Barca Universal take a look at Raphinha who played for Brazil in their game against Switzerland.

Raphinha (vs Switzerland):

Raphinha had a much better game than the one he did against Serbia in Brazil’s World Cup opener but was let down by his teammates on this occasion. The Barcelona man was one of Brazil’s better players in the first half.

The former Leeds United star played an absolute peach of an over-the-top ball into the path of Vinicius Jr. but the Real Madrid winger failed to convert the gilt-edged chance. He created another goalscoring chance in the first half.

Raphinha was solid after the break as well, although, he could not find a way through the Swiss backline and was taken off for Antony for the final 20 minutes or so. He will be looking to score his first World Cup goal next time out.