FIFA World Cup 2022: Why Cameroon and Serbia fell short in Group G

Brazil topped Group G while Switzerland positioned second in the table to advance into the next round. However, at one stage of the penultimate round, all three teams except Brazil were in different positions.

Brazil, already qualified, had rested a number of their top players in the last game against Cameroon. The African giants took advantage of it and put up a close fight to deny Tite's men a clean slate ahead of knock-out and won the game thanks to an injury-time goal.

However, their efforts went in all vain with the Swiss team registering a close-fought 3-2 win against Serbia. On the other hand, Serbia only have had a sleek chance of making it into the next round with one point on board after the first two games. They put up a good show against the Swiss in the final game however fell shot to register any win in this competition, making their tournament a letdown.

Here are a couple of reasons behind Serbia and Cameroon's shortcomings in this World Cup-

Serbia:

The Serbian squad boasts of some of the high-profile players who play in top sides in Europe. However, as a unit, they looked completely disoriented in this edition. The connection between the midfield and defensive third was pretty poor which resulted in conceding goals in every game. The strikers Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic tried to put up a good fight upfront, but the lack of any defensive solidity denied them any victory in this competition.

The Indomitable Lions were not favourites to advance into the next round ahead of the Selecao and Swiss, however, they put up a strong challenge for the second spot. They needed a win against mighty Brazil to have any chance of progression to the next round which historically they achieved. However, the other results put an end to their run. The African giants despite boasting a good offensive third faltered due to their leaky defence. A lack of a natural leader in the back and experience was one of the key reasons behind Rigobert Song's team's exit from the competition.