Switzerland 1-0 Cameroon: Rigobert Song hails 'little brother' Embolo
Despite plunging his side to defeat, Cameroon head coach Rigobert Song reserved a word of praise for match-winner Breel Embolo, telling reporters at the Al Janoub Stadium: "he is my little brother."
Embolo, a Cameroon native, scored the only goal of a cagey game to earn Switzerland a winning start to their Group G campaign.
Embolo, who was born in Cameroon's capital Yaounde but raised in Basel, is representing the Swiss at his second World Cup having received citizenship in 2014.
The striker rounded off a free-flowing move in the 48th minute, sweeping home a low cutback from Xherdan Shaqiri, but opted for a muted celebration given his connection to the African nation.
"We often speak to each other on the phone and I wanted to congratulate him," he continued. "Just because we are on different teams, it does not mean we are not still brothers." Song added
Former Liverpool forward Shaqiri has been directly involved in exactly half of Switzerland's 24 goals across their last four appearances at major tournaments.
This latest defeat for Cameroon marked their eighth consecutive loss at the World Cup finals, with Mexico being the only team to have suffered more (nine defeats) between 1930 and 1958.
With their winning start, Switzerland now sit at the top of Group G before Serbia take on Brazil later today.
The Swiss will be up against Brazil in their next group game on Monday while Cameroon have a must-win clash in their hands against Serbia the same day.
