Every World Cup has had some unusual circumstances and scenarios.

Take, for instance, Switzerland’s Breel Embolo.

Embolo, 25, was born in Cameroon, became a Swiss citizen and wound up scoring the lone goal against the African nation in a Group G opener for bothh teams Al Janoub Stadium in Qatar on Thursday

A native of Yaounde, Cameroon, Embolo scored with his right foot in the 48th minute. Standing alone eight yards out in the middle of the goalmouth, Embolo tallied off Xherdan Shaqiri’s low feed. Embolo, whose family emigrated from Cameroon when he was five, refused to celebrate the goal. He raised his hands in a gesture of apology as teammates rushed to him near the penalty spot.

Switzerland will need that victory and three points with a meeting with tournament favorite Brazil later on in the cup.

The Indomitable Lions played well in the match, but could not find the equalizer to earn a point.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.