Switzerland enter World Cup last 16 with 3-2 hard-fought win Serbia at Stadium 974.
sherdan shaqiri The first half opened in a flamboyant end-to-end scoring Alexander Mitrovic Flattened after six minutes.
Dusan Vlahovic handed Serbia their first lead after 35 minutes, but it was canceled out by Briel Embolo, who sent the sides level at the break.
It took only three minutes after the restart for Remo Freiler to net the eventual winner and – despite chances from both sides – ensured that Switzerland sealed second place in Group G.
Switzerland sidelined the 2018 group-stage encounter between the two sides when granite facade Mitrovic’s opener was canceled out and Shaqiri fired in a last gasp winner.
Both men were back in the starting XI for Switzerland with Murat Yakin making a promising start with two fine efforts inside the first 25 seconds, with Vanja Milinkovic-Savic saving a close effort from Embolo, before Xhaka Failed to bury the rebound.
Serbia won the first corner but Nikola Milenkovic nodded his head on goal. soon after, dusan tadic Space found Andrija Zivkovic who tried to pull his side ahead after 10 minutes, but his powerful strike from distance skimmed the left post and fell at the feet of Mitrovic, who saw his effort collected by Gregor Kobel. .
It took 90 minutes for Shaqiri to find the next in 2018 – this time taking only 20 minutes, starting with Ricardo Rodríguez down the area on the left.
Strynja Pavlovic was there to block the swerving cross but failed to clear, instead directing the ball to Djibril So. The Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder teed up Shaqiri, who fired a left-footed strike into the bottom-right corner.
It took just six minutes for Serbia to respond. Tadic floated in a cross from outside the area, timed perfectly to meet Mitrovic and the Fulham striker, on the run, drew things with a fine header into the top corner.
Shaqiri had almost put Switzerland ahead, but it was Serbia who took the lead when Freiller lofted the ball in near the penalty spot and Vlahovic fired past the far post with a left-footed leap.
However, it was all square from the break, when Sylvan Vidmar sent a low cross across the face of goal for a sliding Embolo to finish from inside the six-yard box.
Switzerland restored the lead three minutes into the second half. A patient passing sequence ended with a brilliant move by Ruben Vargas, who released a perfect backheel for Freiler, who sent a powerful strike into the bottom corner.
An offside flag saved Serbia from falling further behind, but missed a good chance to equalize when Kobel did well to read Filip Kostic’s effort from the left.
Tension escalated after Mitrovic appealed for a penalty after claiming he was pulled down by Fabian Schar. The referee did not agree, his decision provoking the substitutes to spill onto the pitch for a brief tussle.
Many came forward hoping to change momentum, but with the end in sight, the Swiss soon shifted into shut-down mode, surviving seven minutes of stoppage time – including another heated disagreement between the two sides – for the knockout. Round to book your trip for.