The Swiss have advanced through the group stage for the third straight World Cup. Serbia needed to win in order to go to the knockout rounds, whilst Switzerland could afford to wait and see how Brazil and Cameroon fared in order to advance.
In the 20th minute, the dependable Xherdan Shaqiri struck the Serbian hopes with a strong drive to give the Swiss the lead. Serbia might find inspiration from the frantic World Cup group stage, which has seen giants fall and outcomes fluctuate in many areas despite being down a goal.
Aleksandar Mitrovic Scores
It came as little surprise when the Serbian hit again quickly after each other. Aleksandar Mitrovic scored the first goal after connecting with a header and quickly placing it in the far bottom corner.
With an equaliser secured, Serbia was once more allowed to enter the game and the group when the Swiss’ careless defence provided another Serbian opportunity.
Shaqiri loses the possession
This time, Shaqiri was the one who misplaced the ball in midfield. Dusan Tadic, a mainstay of Ajax and a master of the defense-splitting pass, was able to sneak a ball through. Dusan Vlahovic gained control of the ball as the Swiss defence failed to simply move it away.
The Juventus forward fired with his left foot, sliding the ball past goalkeeper Gregor Kobel. Serbia suddenly moved up from last to second in Group G.
Silvan Widmer’s pass gave Breel Embolo a clean tap-in opportunity to score as the first half was about to close, but that situation didn’t last long as the Swiss scored again. Embolo has scored four goals in five straight games for his nation.
Swiss continued their strategy
The Swiss continued where they left off in the first half of their half. This strategy also has Shaqiri at its core. The winger took Embolo’s ball back and delivered a deft dink over the Serbian defence.
Ruben Vargas intercepted the ball over the top, matching Shaqiri’s brilliance with a beautiful no-look heel pass that found Remo Frueler, who scored to give Switzerland the lead and the second spot on the group back.
The Serbians now had a mountain to climb of two goals. It was a mountain they would be unable to climb. The third goal took the wind out of the Serbians’ sails, and they slowed down at the finish of the game.
Read about Cricket stories here.
