The Le Mans goalkeeper had to rely on a shaky defence and failed in saving the consecutive penalties, but his standing block on the edge of the box when Admir Mehmedi was through on 38 minutes prevented a probable goal.
Raw but showed spurts of talent. The 16-year-old has plenty of time to improve defensively (where he was occasionally left lacking) but his pace and acceleration lend him well to attack the full-back channel.
Brought cheers from the crowd with his (unnecessarily) acrobatic clearances in the first half but the centre-back looked out of his depth whenever Switzerland attacked with pace. The player clumsily fouled Innocent Emeghara in the penalty area to allow the Europeans to go ahead early on.
At fault for letting the cross come in for Switzerland to win their penalty but the right-back was arguably the strongest defensively in Gabon’s back four.
The left midfielder tested the goalkeeper with a long range free-kick in the first half and skimmed a few half-chance headers wide from inside the box in the second. Finessed a 10-yard shot from the left millimetres wide of the right post.
Showed good vision on numerous occasions all match - most memorably when he crossed for Gabon’s opening goal on the stroke of half-time.
Another crowd favourite due to his exuberant slide tackling, but he had very little impact positively for the Panthers in the centre of midfield.
Part if a nervy centre-back pairing, he could have easily caused the second penalty incident of the match when, under pressure, he kicked the ball back into the hands of Ovono with 50 minutes gone. Luckily for him the referee deemed it accidental.
Had Gabon’s finest chance of the half when he sweetly struck the crossbar from the edge of the box. Played with tenacity from midfield but his long-range passing was rarely within five yards of his intended target.
Outclassed by team-mate Aubameyang, the 19-year-old was not largely involved in Gabon’s first match of London 2012. His finest chance came when he robbed a Swiss defender off the ball at the corner flag then weaved into the box, but he spent too long contemplating what to do and was intercepted en masse. Brought off with a little over 15 minutes left.
The African nation’s best player without a doubt. Looked lively in the first half and his through balls from the centre to the wings were always accurate. Missed two chances in final 15 minutes before he was third-time lucky when he passed into the back of the net in Gabon’s first. In the second he was a little less active but still was a constant presence running in and behind the Switzerland back four.
Distribution questionable throughout but composed with corners and regularly succeeded in putting off players when he sprinted from his goalline.
The Wolfsburg left-back successfully ran his channel without allowing the Panthers too much space behind him. An assured performance.
The weakest player in the Swiss defence. Silly and needless foul early on earned him a deserved booking. The centre-back was booed for exaggerating an aerial foul and Panthers attacker Nono a yellow card. At fault for playing Aubameyang onside for Gabon’s goal.
The central defender looked nervous when forwards tried timing their runs past him but the tall defender was always assured in the air.
The Palermo starlet was constantly harassing opposition players down the right flank from full-back but, unluckily for him, Gabon chose to send the majority of their attacks down that channel. However, he dealt with the attacks confidently for most of the match considering the pressure.
Was fairly invisible whenever the ball was around in centre-midfield and spent much of his time marking players off the ball.
Sitting in front of the back four, the FC Zurich midfielder was not afraid to put a foot in which, today at least, was to his team’s disadvantage. He received two deserved yellow cards either side of half-time - the first for a cynical clip on an ankle and the second for diving - which left the Swiss playing with 10 men for the final 12 minutes.
Part of numerous Swiss attacking moves but not in the right place at the right time enough. Splicing a shot wide midway through the second half was the highlight of his match.
Slicing runs and searing passes were a trademark for the Grasshopper Club forward in the first 25 minutes but too frequently he took a touch too many when he ran with the ball and gave Gabon back possession. Subbed off with a little over 20 minutes left.
The forward won the penalty for Switzerland but that was more the defender’s fault than his own doing. He hassled the Panthers’ defence for much of the match however before losing energy towards the end. Replaced with six minutes on the clock.
Had to take a penalty twice early on but calmly converted both. Missed the textbook definition of a sitter with nearly 20 minutes on the clock much to Swiss fans’ horror and Panthers fans’ amusement. Visibly lost confidence afterwards and was very rarely found inside the danger area, but instead orchestrating the moves from a little deeper.
Came on with six minutes left; not enough time to make an impact.
Brought on after 68 minutes, the Fulham attacker had barely any say on the outcome of the match and received the ball on very few occasions in his 20 or so minutes on the pitch.
| Tournament | |
| Position | |
| Ranking |
| Rank/Player | Position | Team | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Giovani dos Santos | Striker | Mexico | 3.67 |
| 2. Neymar | Striker | Brazil | 3.67 |
| 3. J. Corona | Goalkeeper | Mexico | 3.63 |
| 4. Oscar | Midfielder | Brazil | 3.60 |
| 5. Leandro Damião | Striker | Brazil | 3.50 |
| 6. Rômulo | Midfielder | Brazil Under 23 | 3.40 |
| 7. O. Peralta | Striker | Mexico | 3.38 |
| 8. Tom Cleverley | Midfielder | England | 3.25 |
| 9. Marcelo | Defender | Brazil | 3.25 |
| 10. Sung-Ryong Jung | Goalkeeper | South Korea | 3.17 |
| 11. Scott Sinclair | Midfielder | Great Britain U-23 | 3.17 |
| 12. Hulk | Striker | Brazil | 3.13 |
| 13. Steven Caulker | Defender | Great Britain U-23 | 3.13 |
| 14. H. Mier | Defender | Mexico | 3.13 |
| 15. Jorge Enríquez | Midfielder | Mexico | 3.13 |
| 16. Koo Ja-Cheol | Midfielder | South Korea | 3.13 |
| 17. Sung-Yong Ki | Midfielder | South Korea | 3.13 |
| 18. J. Aquino | Defender | Mexico | 3.00 |
| 19. Aaron Ramsey | Midfielder | Wales | 3.00 |
| 20. Daniel Sturridge | Striker | England | 3.00 |
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Leandro Damião Striker Internacional |
6 | 0 |
|
Moussa Konaté Striker Krasnodar |
5 | 0 |
|
O. Peralta Striker Santos Laguna |
4 | 0 |
|
Giovani dos Santos Striker Mallorca |
3 | 1 |
|
Neymar Striker Santos |
3 | 1 |
