Swiss overcome Serbia fightback to secure decisive victory.
/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2022/12/02/3501652-71380208-2560-1440.jpg)
-
Switzerland hit front through Xherdan Shaqiri strike
-
Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic completed nine-minute turnaround
-
Breel Embolo and Remo Freuler struck either side of break for to reclaim lead
Serbia 2-3 Switzerland | Group G Match ReviewGoals | Serbia: Mitrovic (26), Vlahovic (35) Switzerland: Shaqiri (20), Embolo (44), Freuler (48)
Switzerland emerged on top from a topsy-turvy, highly-charged encounter with Serbia to book a FIFA World Cup Qatar last-16 date with Portugal.
A game that began at a cracking pace and never let up swung one way then the other, Switzerland tossing away a one-goal lead, only to recover for their second straight win. Vanja Milinkovic-Savic saved from Breel Embolo and Granit Xhaka as the Swiss poured forward in the first minute.
Serbia’s response came in the form of an Andrija Zivkovic shot from distance that slammed the post. But Switzelrand led when Djibril Sow collected a weak clearance from Strahinja Pavlović to calmly feed Xherdan Shaqiri for the forward to score in a third consecutive World Cup.
Serbia stormed back from trailing Cameroon on Monday and they repeated the trick here. Aleksandar Mitrovic met Dusan Tadic’s delivery with a brilliant header that flew beyond Gregor Kobel, the goalkeeper who received a late summons, with regular No1 Yann Sommer laid low by illness.
Kobel was beaten again eight minutes later, Dusan Vlahovic profiting when the ubiquitous Tadic’s eye-of-the-needle pass was deflected into the striker’s path for a lashed finish into the bottom corner.
Embolo levelled 60 seconds before half-time, steering in from close range after Switzerland got down the Serbia left for Silvan Widmer to cross along floor. Nottingham Forest midfielder Freuler fastened onto Ruben Vargas’s magnificent lay-off on the volley from Embolo’s pitching-wedge pass to slide a cute effort past Milinkovic-Savic three minutes after half-time.
How many more goals was this barmy game going to serve up? Not many viewers would have predicted we’d seen the last of them. The same can be said of Serbia in this competition. But the Swiss are hanging around for more.
Key moment
Switzerland might have counted themselves unfortunate when their one-goal lead was wiped out in quick time. Murat Yakin’s team, so parsimonious in their opening two fixtures, were never going to lapse into carelessness and make the same mistake twice.Freuler’s excellent, disguised finish to crown a fabulous sequence of passes, therefore, was pivotal. Midfielder Vargas, with his back to goal, skilfully back-heeled Embolo’s flighted ball into the path of Freuler. The pass doubled up as an invitation to shoot and Freuler gratefully accepted. Rather than put his boot through the ball, the 30-year-old performed a barely perceptible feint, tricking goalkeeper Milinkovic-Savic into diving the wrong way as the shot travelled inside his left post.
The Serbs needed two goals inside 42 minutes to progress. For an idea of the scale of that challenge, remember Brazil’s first-choice team required 83 minutes to crack the Swiss resistance eight days ago. The game was up for Serbia, who surrendered a two-goal lead to draw their second match with Cameroon and had another advantage conclusively wrenched from their grasp when Freuler buried his strike.
Key states
Xherdan Sahqiri is keeping company with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi among the three players who have scored at each of the last three men’s World Cups.Remo Freuler is the first Nottingham Forest layer to score at a FIFA World Cup since Pierre van Hooijdonk netted for the Netherlands against Korea Republic at France 98.
Xherdan Sahqiri is keeping company with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The trio are alone in scoring at the 2014, 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
Remo Freuler is the first Nottingham Forest player to score at a FIFA World Cup since Pierre van Hooijdonk netted for the Netherlands against Korea Republic at France 98.