Brazil’s Tite says Switzerland equaliser should have been ruled out

Tite complained bitterly that Switzerland’s equalising goal ought to have been ruled out for a foul, as Brazil could only draw 1-1 on their opening night in Group E.

The five-times champions had led through Philippe Coutinho’s beautiful long-range curling goal but Steven Zuber equalised early in the second half. The Switzerland midfielder pushed Miranda slightly before he headed home from Xherdan Shaqiri’s corner and Tite argued it had been a “clear” offence.

The Brazil striker Gabriel Jesus believed he should have had a penalty in the 74th minute after he felt Manuel Akanji’s arms around him in the area but the equalising goal was the principal talking point.

“The Miranda moment was very clear,” Tite said. “It’s a very clear play. You could interpret the penalty [appeal] but the first one, you cannot discuss. You have to be fair. I cannot talk about something that was so obvious. There was a foul.

“I will also say this – Miranda said to me: ‘Well, when he pushed me, I should have fallen over,’ but I said: ‘No, absolutely not. Don’t simulate anything. Don’t draw a foul otherwise it will look like you are trying to do so.’”

Switzerland emerged with their point after what was largely a rearguard action and they dismissed the controversy over their goal. The manager, Vladimir Petkovic, said: “It was a regular goal, a regular duel. You look to create space to have the opportunity. The defender was not well positioned. The VAR referees also keep an eye on proceedings.”

Shaqiri added: “It is too much to say it’s a foul in every game when you have some little touches. This is football. You cannot stay without the little touches. Yes, many pushes are a foul but this was a normal challenge on a corner. It is no foul.”

Brazil were the more proactive team and they dominated in terms of chances created but they were undermined by a lack of ruthlessness. “There was a lot of anxiety, a lot of pressure and it was translated into the final action,” Tite said. “We had more than 20 finishes but too many were off target. If we were more focused, we could have made the goalkeeper work more.

“After the equaliser you could feel something emotionally. There was a feeling. We had to be cooler, more precise. My expectation was for a victory and, of course, I’m not happy with the result.”