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28 mins: Cameroon get a shot on goal although Tolo looks to be the man with the final touch. Tolo’s wry smile implies that he thinks so too.
26 mins: Admir Pajic emails: “Cameroon haven’t had the best time at the WC since Italia 90 with one win and ten defeats in 15 games since the defeat against England.
“Switzerland, on the other hand, are hard to break down – they rarely win or lose in 90 minutes at WCs (only four defeats in 15 games came within 90 minutes).
“However, I have been wondering if having too many players on the wrong side of the 30s has been a problem for big teams like Argentina, Germany, Croatia and Belgium, while England and Spain look more lively than any of the aforementioned teams . Switzerland also has a fair 30-year-old Schär.”
I wonder if the experience of tournament football is very useful for Switzerland. These players know how to get the job done. And a lovely play on words in there.
24 min: Cameroon move the ball to Mbuemo on the right, he cuts in and looks set to shoot, but Switzerland closes him down. The attack wins a corner in Cameroon. Mbuemo sends it to the box but misses everyone.
22 min: Switzerland take a little risk at the back with some short passes. Elvedi doesn’t put enough pace into his back pass to Sommer, who only gets to the ball a fraction of a second before Mbuemo and whistles it back to his centre-back.
20 min: A couple of crosses are sent into the box and sent over. The ball goes out to Xhaka who looks to thread a ball over the top but puts a little too much into the pass and goes for a goal kick.
18 mins: “Thanks for the wonderful coverage of sunny climbs. (Living room?),” asks Bill Hargreaves. I’m definitely here, with my desk very messy. “Could be my oversight, but I don’t see Roger Milla’s name on the team sheet. Is that a typo?”
He had to be rested to ensure he could take the Infantino award before the game.
16 min: Switzerland seem very willing to throw crosses into the area. They haven’t caused too much trouble yet, but it seems like a sly plan.
15 mins: Choupo-Moting beats Akanji on the halfway line, allowing him to run on goal. The Manchester City defender again puts him under pressure, meaning the shot lacks power, allowing Sommer to get down to stop it.
Updated at 10.16 GMT
14 mins: Vargas steps up and drops a shoulder to the left before sending a low cross into the corridor of uncertainty, but there’s no Switzerland player in sight, allowing Cameroon to clear. Moments later, Shaqiri plays a pass to Embolo in the box, but he goes over. Not that it really matters because he’s offside.
12 mins: Xhaka decides to let it fly from 30 yards but sends the ball high over the bar and then yells at his teammates for some reason or another.
10 minutes: Two chances for Cameroon. A long pass is played through the Swiss defense for Mbuemo to chase down, he gets there and fires a shot straight at Sommer. The rebound lands at the feet of Toko-Ekambi, but he shoots the ball from 10 yards.
Karl Toko Ekambi misses an early chance for Cameroon. Photograph: Marko Đurica/Reuters
Updated at 10.17 GMT
8 mins: Cameroon have their first near-attack of the game, winning a free-kick about 35 meters from goal. Mbuemo takes it but fails to beat first man and the danger is quickly cleared.
6 min.: Embolo rolls the defender and plays Shaqiri, who crosses from the right into a dangerous area but there is no one in red to meet him. There is, however, a man in green who tries his best to help Switzerland by cutting off his clearance attempt, but Onana is there to catch him.
4 minutes: There is no shortage of shade in the plot, which is a little annoying. There is a bit of noise in the stands but not too much because of the good amount of empty seats we can see next to it.
Switzerland’s Breel Embolo took the ball under pressure from Nicolas Nkoulou. Photograph: Marko Đurica/Reuters
Updated at 10.05 GMT
2 min: A positive start from the Swiss who quickly move the ball up the pitch to win a corner. Shaqiri swings it in from the right, it’s low to the near post and causes some confusion before Cameroon clears it.
To start
Pee! Pee! Pee! Here we come!
Germany’s reaction to yesterday’s loss to Japan.
Updated at 09.59 GMT
It looks and feels like the stadium is half empty. Not what the organizers would want for this group game. I’m sure they will massage the attendance figures.
Carney is a big fan of Anguissa and so am I. Maybe we should be friends.
Roger Milla receives a certificate from Infantino on the field. I hope it goes on your wall. It’s a shame to have to meet Infantino, though.
The Guardian’s own Karen Carney is currently on ITV. She is rooting for Brazil to win the tournament. His views on England v USA will be published later today.
One of the greats interviews one of the greats.
“My favorite kick-off story,” says Gerry Scott, “was when Ronaldinho was playing for Barcelona and they asked to move the game forward due to international commitments. That was refused, so they moved the game forward until at 12:05”.
Peter Oh emails: “I feel like I have something in common with Dani Alves because I love soccer and I don’t get paid either.”
I am also here as a volunteer.
Hits and goals.
Looking forward to seeing Djibril Sow for Switzerland. Nottingham Forest were very interested in signing the Eintracht Frankfurt player in the summer, so we’ll find out what he missed out on.
Initial alignments
Switzerland (4-2-3-1): Summer; Widmer, Akanji, Elvedi, Rodriguez; Freuler, Genealogy; Shaqiri, Sow, Vargas; the penis
Cameron (4-3-3): Onana; Orella, Wolf, Castelletto, Fai; Gouet, Hongla, Three Anxiety; Sleep, Choupo-Moting, we will lead.
Cameroon entered the stadium singing and dancing. You don’t get that from the Swiss.
Sid Lowe has had some fun with Dani Alves. Brazil play later today…
It seems very strange to be doing minute by minute at this time of day. The match starts at 10:00 GMT. What’s the first professional football game you’ve ever been to? I remember Man City playing Everton once at 11.30am (or similar).
What’s happening today at the World Cup? Let The Guardian tell you…
Louise Taylor has written about former Liverpool and West Ham defender Rigobert Song, who is now the Cameroon coach.
Hello!
There are some big hitters entering the World Cup fray today: Brazil, the retired Cristiano Ronaldo, to name just two. There are few great strikers, however, than Xherdan Shaqiri’s calves. The Swiss international adds 109 games to his name in his 31 years. Experience is a theme for this Swiss team; there are three players with a century of international appearances to their name, not forgetting Haris Seferovic over Yann Sommer, 98 and 33. He helped them defeat France at the Euros to reach the quarter-finals. They made it out of the group at the last two World Cups, so they’ll go into this one feeling relatively confident.
Obviously, the fact that Brazil are also in Group G makes this a must-win game for Switzerland and Cameroon. The Africans are not at their all-time best, but there is plenty of quality throughout the side. From Andre Onana in net to the in-form Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting at the other end of the pitch, Cameroon can give most teams a game of the day. They finished third at last year’s Africa Cup of Nations, so they know how to advance in a tournament. They arrive in Qatar ranked 43rd in the world, 28 below Switzerland, which is a slight indication of the gap between the two teams, but I think the gap is not as big as Gianni Infantino’s boffins think.
We expect a decent game to start Group G well.
Start: 10:00 GMT