Switzerland wins the battle against Serbia to go to the round of 16
Freuler gave the Helvetians the win after a frantic first half
MADRID, Dec. 2 (.) –
Switzerland complied and got their ticket to the round of 16 of the World Cup in Qatar 2022 after getting a hard-fought victory (2-3) against Serbia, in a frantic match that they had to come back to secure second place in Group G, which Brazil won despite to their defeat (1-0) this Friday against Cameroon.
Now, Murat Yakin’s team will face Portugal next Tuesday in search of a place in the quarterfinals, where they could face the Spanish team, if Luis Enrique’s team overcomes their corresponding duel against Morocco.
The game seemed to go down the drain for the Swiss when Shaquiri scored the first after taking advantage of an assist from Sow on 20 minutes. However, soon after Mitrovic equalized and Vlahovic made the second for Serbia after an error in the opposing defense. Embolo appeared in the last minute of the first half and as soon as the second half began Freuler put the final 2-3 to the delight of Switzerland.
Without great frills in their game but with great reliability in front of goal, Yakin’s team showed their best version so far in the World Cup. Thus, he demonstrated his scoring ability – until now he had only scored one goal – to face the strength and intensity of the Serbs. Embolo, the architect of the 1-0 defeat of Cameroon, once again played a key role, along with Shaquiri who became the Swiss player with the most appearances in a World Cup (11).
The match left that exchange of blows at the beginning, the result of the intensity and high pressure with which the two teams came out. Not even half a minute had passed when Xhaka hooked a ball up front that Vanja Milinkovic-Savic saved, to later cover Embolo’s rebound from point-blank range. Serbia had their reply on five minutes in Zivkovic’s boots, but his shot hit the post.
All this was the preamble to what happened shortly after. The scoring festival started by Shaquiri, Mitrovic and Vlahovic came back for Serbia and there was time for one more before the break, Embolo’s for 2-2. Far from speculating with a draw that would ensure their ticket to the round of 16, the Swiss team wanted to sentence after the restart.
More plugged in in the locker room return, Switzerland developed a move of their own from the gear of a clock to return the advantage to Murat Yakin’s men. After a good triangulation, Vargas assisted with a heel so that Freuler, after three minutes, in the small area, shot and sent the ball into the back of the net.
From there, Dragan Stojkovic’s men turned to the opposite field, needing a win to have options for the round of 16, but the order and defensive solidity of the Swiss was able to contain at times the attacks by Jovic, Mitrovic and company. Even so, the Swiss team was able to extend their lead almost at the end, but Fassnacht missed with his shot.
DATA SHEET.
–RESULT: SERBIA, 2 – SWITZERLAND, 3. (2-2 at halftime).
–ALIGNMENTS.
SERBIA: Milinkovic-Savic, Zivkovic (Radonjic, min.78), Milenkovic, Veljkovic (Gudelj, min.55), Pavlovic, Kostic, Milinkovic-Savic (Maksimovic, min.68), Lukic, Tadic (Djuricic, min.78 ), Vlahovic (Jovic, min.55) and Mitrovic.
SWITZERLAND: Kobel, Widmer, Akanji, Schaer, Ricardo Rodríguez, Shaqiri (Zakaria, min.69), Xhaka, Freuler, Sow (Fernandes, min.68), Vargas (Fassnacht, min.83) and Embolo (Okafor, min. 96).
–GOALS.
0-1 min. 20: Shakiri.
1-1 min. 26: Mitrovic.
2-1 min. 35: Vlahovic.
2-2 min. 44: plunger.
2-3 min. 48: Freuler.
–REFEREE: Fernando Rapallini (ARG). He admonished Widmer (min.14), Vargas (min.34), Xhaka (min.95) and Schar (min.99) by Switzerland, and Milinkovic-Savic (min.47), Pavlovic (min. 56), Rajkovic (min.66), Gudelj (min.81), Mitrovic (min.82) and Milenkovic (min.95) from Serbia.
–STADIUM: Stadium 974.
