Doha: Switzerland’s defeat has made their upcoming World Cup rematch all the more fascinating, with a lot at stake.
Ever since the match schedule was made in April, the Group G match between Switzerland and Serbia has been the focus of attention. Not only because of the talented players on both teams, but because of the political tension when they met in the last World Cup.
Four years ago in Russia, Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka celebrated his goal against Serbia by making a double-headed eagle with his hands – the thumbs representing the two eagle heads, the fingers spread to look like wings . The figure is considered an Albanian nationalist symbol.
Xherdan Shaqiri scored another goal in the last minute of the game, and did the same with his own hand as the Swiss won 2–1 in the second of the three group matches.
Both Xhaka and Shaqiri have ethnic Albanian heritage and family ties to Kosovo. They were teenagers growing up in Switzerland when Kosovo declared independence from Serbia, something Serbs still don’t recognize 14 years later.
Both players were fined by FIFA during the tournament, and the government of Albania opened a bank account for people to contribute towards paying the 10,000 Swiss francs ($10,500) fine.
On Friday, only one of the two teams will be able to enter the round of 16 in Qatar. Brazil, who beat Switzerland 1-0 on Monday and Serbia 2-0 last Thursday, have already booked their place in the knockout rounds.
The Swiss player only needs a draw at the Stadion 974, and Shaqiri should be available to play after missing the match against Brazil with a hamstring injury.
Xhaka, now 30 and a mature leader for his country, sat out the controversial match four years ago.
“(There’s) nothing in the history behind these two games,” the Arsenal midfielder said. “We are Switzerland, they are Serbia, that’s all. We are here to play football – they, us too.”
Nevertheless, the Serbian delegation to this year’s World Cup has already made the politics of Kosovo an issue.
Before their opening game against Brazil, Serbia’s locker room displayed a national flag with a field that included Kosovo and the slogan “No Surrender”. FIFA opened a disciplinary case against the Serbian Football Federation on Saturday.
The Kosovo Soccer Federation formally complained to FIFA after a photograph was circulated and the country’s sports minister, Hajrullah Seku, described the image as using the World Cup to promote “hateful, xenophobic and genocidal messages”. did.
The Swiss reached the last 16 in 2018 after a draw with Costa Rica in their final group match, while the Serbs were knocked out after losing to Brazil. This time, the teams will face each other in their final group game.
“Of course, history is history,” said Switzerland goalkeeper Jan Sommer, who also played against Serbia four years ago in Kaliningrad. “But this game will be important at the moment.
“We already know this game,” Sommer said. “We had it in Russia.”