Switzerland Boss Vladimir Petkovic 'Proud and Pleased' After Impressive Draw Against Brazil

Switzerland manager Vladimir Petkovic has expressed his delight after his side came back from 1-0 down to earn an unexpected point against World Cup favourites Brazil.

Brazil took the lead after just 20 minutes when Philippe Coutinho scored with a stunning long-range effort, only to be pegged back in the second half when Steven Zuber headed home from a corner.

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Speaking after the full-time whistle, Petkovic said via BBC Sport: "I'm very proud and pleased with the discipline with the way we played.

"We worked collectively and cohesively. I didn't see any bad fouls and there were too many yellow cards.

"I hope they will start taking notice of us and taking us seriously. Sometimes if there is a lack of recognition that is a pity because we have played very well. We showed and demonstrated that this team always believes in itself and can achieve results.

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Petkovic also defended his side from accusations of foul play after Brazilian forward Neymar was fouled 10 times during the match - the most times a player was fouled in a World Cup match since Alan Shearer in 1998.

"Most of the duels (with Neymar) were won in a very clean way," insisted Petkovic. "It was one of the key ingredients to neutralise Neymar."

"When we are able to play forward and press higher up we were able to do it well and it is an excellent starting position for the rest of our group matches.

When asked to comment on his side's equaliser, the subject of some controversy due to a perceived foul by Zuber on Brazil defender Miranda, Petkovic replied: "The opponents were not well positioned and it was not a foul.

"We had real difficulties in the first 40 minutes, I said 'let's remain calm, focused and believe in ourselves, push up higher up the pitch and create opportunities to score'."

Switzerland's next match in Group E is against Serbia, with the game set to take place on Friday.