Germany Loses, Brazil Denied Victory

In their opening matches, previous world cup winner Germany lost the game to Mexico 1-0 on Sunday and later in the day, all-time record holder for the number of World Cup titles Brazil was stopped by Switzerland to complete the shock of the day. In another match Serbia bagged three points, beating Costa Rica 1-0.

Defending champion Germany crashed to defeat in its first game at the World Cup as an enterprising Mexico refused to be intimidated by history and ran out 1-0 in a thrilling Group F opener at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Reuters reported.

A shaky warm-up campaign had called into question the dominant form the Germans showed in qualifying, but experience and records were on their side, having won every opening game at major tournaments since Joachim Löw took over as coach in 2006.

Juan Carlos Osorio’s side had other ideas, however, holding their own against the favorites’ fearsome but slowing midfield and finding space at the back and seeking to end 33 years without a win against Germany. After wasting a handful of first-half chances while living dangerously in their own half, Hirving Lozano’s 35th-minute strike on the break proved just reward.

 Brazil Hit by Swiss

Brazil joined the host of big guns who have failed to fire in their opening World Cup game as lax defending from a corner allowed Switzerland to cancel out Philippe Coutinho’s spectacular curling strike and grab a 1-1 draw on Sunday in Rostov.

The five-times world champion took a deserved lead midway through the first half in the Group E game when Coutinho’s irresistible long-distance shot cannoned in off the far post, but Tite’s side, which had looked so impressive in the tournament build-up, did not build on their advantage. The highly organized Swiss hit back early in the second period from one of their few chances as Brazil’s Casemiro and Miranda switched off and the unmarked Steven Zuber barely had to leave his feet to nod in Xherdan Shaqiri’s whipped corner.

It was also the first time Brazil had not won a World Cup opener since drawing 1-1 with Sweden in 1978.

 Captain Saves Serbs

Aleksandar Kolarov produced a moment of captain’s inspiration, curling home a superb free kick as Serbia got its World Cup Group E campaign up and running with a 1-0 victory over Costa Rica on Sunday.

With the Central Americans proving a tough nut to crack, Kolarov stepped up to bury a 25-meter 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 which rarely threatened after a bright start, but chances were thin on the ground until Kolarov made the breakthrough in the 56th minute.