Switzerland beat Serbia 3-2 (2-2) in a fast-paced and intense game and finished the group stage in second place. In the World Cup round of 16 it is against Portugal with Cristiano Ronaldo. Serbia is eliminated.
Football games, in which there is a lot at stake, are often characterized by the fact that both teams appear cautious and deliberate, that they focus on tactical nuances, that they make their coaches happy, but not the spectators.
The duel between Serbia and Switzerland was very different. In the 3: 2 (2: 2) in the last game of group G, in which it was about progress, both teams were furious on the offensive and negligent on the defensive. And so a spectacular game developed in which Xherdan Shaqiri (20th minute), Breel Embolo (44th) and Remo Freuler (48th) scored for Switzerland and Aleksandar Mitrović (26th) and Dušan Vlahović (35th) for Serbia. ) scored the hits.
Swiss proud after “great fight”
“I’m super happy,” said Swiss goalkeeper Gregor Kobel. “It was the big goal. It was a tough game, a great fight – and we even won. It’s logical that the joy is great.” And national coach Murat Yakin said: “I’m absolutely proud of the team. I’m happy for the nation.”
With the win, the Swiss will play against Portugal with Cristiano Ronaldo in the round of 16 (December 6, 8 p.m. CET). Serbia was eliminated as bottom of the table with one point.
Double chance for the Swiss after a few seconds
Serbia’s defense had already shown in the 3:3 against Cameroon that it is not one of the safest of this tournament. She provided plenty of further evidence against Switzerland, the first after just seconds when she misplaced striker Embolo and freed goalkeeper Vanja Milinković-Savić to free the shot. Lucky for the Serbs, Embolo fired too centrally and Milinković-Savić was also able to fend off Granit Xhaka’s follow-up shot.
And good for the neutral spectators, who saw a game in which both teams played forward from the start. The Serbs also had their first good chances early on: defender Nikola Milenković headed just wide after a corner (5th minute) and Andrija Živković hit the left post from a distance (11th). Gregor Kobel, who replaced Yann Sommer in goal for the Swiss, who had a cold, would not have had a chance.
Shaqiri puts Switzerland in the lead
It was clear early on that goals would be scored in this game and both teams made it come true before the break. Shaqiri gave the Swiss the lead (20th). Ricardo Rodriguez broke through on the left, after his cross Djibril Sow got the ball, which was passed to Shaqiri. His deflected shot was unstoppable.
Mitrović and Vlahović turn the game around
The Serbs were not shocked, on the contrary. Just minutes later, Aleksandar Mitrović headed the ball into the far corner after a precise cross from Dušan Tadić (26′). Even after the equalizer, this game didn’t have any rest periods. After Tadic Dušan Vlahović served Vlahović, Swiss midfielder Freuler got the ball but unluckily put it in front of Vlahović. The Serb fired into the far corner to make it 2-1 (35′).
Embolo with the equalizer just before the break
The two coaches Murat Yakin (Switzerland) and Dragan Stojković (Serbia) probably didn’t enjoy this game much, both defenses were too error-prone. The Serbs, who would have liked to have taken the lead at half-time, were once again poorly positioned in the 44th minute. The Swiss Sow played out to the right to Silvan Widmer, whose flat cross Embolo only had to push in to make it 2:2.
Freuler hits the Swiss lead again after a strong combination
It is not known whether the coaches tried to encourage their players to play defensive work at half-time. But if they did, they only succeeded to a limited extent. The next goal fell just a few minutes after the restart. After a great combination, Freuler scored to put the Swiss back in the lead (48′). Shaqiri had chipped Ruben Vargas, who put the heel on Freuler in the penalty area.
Hand scene enrages the Serbs
Embolo should have made it 4:2 a little later, but shot just over it from close range and was probably just offside. The game remained open and explosive. And the first time he got really heated was when Mitrović went down in the penalty area and demanded a penalty. Referee Fernando Rapallini allowed the game to continue and then had to listen to loud criticism from the Serbian bench.
The slow motion showed that Fabian Schär had not fouled, but got the ball on his arm. A controversial scene that enraged the Serbs. The Serbs threw everything forward shortly before the end, the Swiss were given space to counterattack, but didn’t use it.
It got confusing again when players from both teams attacked each other after an actually harmless duel. Above all, Xhaka and Mitrović could hardly be calmed down. That didn’t change anything in the result.