Doha, Qatar — Switzerland sealed the round-of-16 match against Portugal with a 3-2 win against Serbia In a furious clash at Stadio 974, referee Fernando Rapalini showed yellow cards to 11 players.
target from sherdan shaqiri, breel embolo And remo freer were enough to seal the win for the Swiss Alexander Mitrovic And dusan vlahovic trap for serbia
But the game ended in bad scenes off the pitch, with a FIFA announcement over the PA system urging fans to stop making discriminatory noises and gestures.
jump to: player ratings , Best/Worst Performers , Highlights and Notable Moments , postmatch quotes , key figures , upcoming fixtures
Swift response
1. Switzerland move on, but can they end their World Cup knockout jinx?
Switzerland are good at qualifying for the World Cup and good enough to get out of their group in the final, but they have failed to reach the quarter-finals in their last seven attempts, so will Qatar 2022 be any different?
This 3-2 win against Serbia means Murat Yakin’s Swiss side will face Portugal in the last 16, and it’s a game the Swiss can win with their organization and goal threat.
But Switzerland have not reached the last eight since hosting the World Cup in 1954 – they have developed a habit of qualifying for tournaments, yet have failed to make a mark.
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ending Cristiano RonaldoThe World Cup dream will surely be one to remember for the Swiss, but Yakin’s team will be a threat to Portugal. They are unremarkable but solid and Fernando Santos’ Portugal team will find them a tough nut to crack.
Embolo and Shaqiri, who both scored in this game, would cause problems for Portugal’s defence, but whether the Swiss could stop the attacking threat posed by the Portuguese would decide the tie.
But after such a disappointing tournament, Switzerland has been able to reach the last eight in Qatar.
2. Shaqiri saves for Switzerland under intense pressure
Xherdan Shaqiri celebrates his goal in this game after fouling Serbia during Switzerland’s 2-1 win in Russia 2018. on that occasion, Chicago Fire The forward, a Kosovo-born ethnic Albanian, provoked a political controversy by performing the double-headed eagle gesture (the symbol on the Albanian flag) with his arms raised in front of Serbian supporters.
The celebration was so controversial – tensions are high between Serbia and Kosovo – that Shaqiri missed the Champions League tie with the former club in Serbia against Red Star Belgrade. liverpool Out of concern for his safety.
Shaqiri was booed by Serbian supporters when his name was read out before the game at Stadion 974, and this happened whenever he touched the ball.
But Shaqiri was able to overcome off-field distractions to produce a match-winning performance for the Swiss, scoring one and playing a key role in two other goals.
The 31-year-old scored Switzerland’s opener at the end where the Serbian fans were sitting, and he celebrated in front of them by putting his finger to his lips and then pointing to the name on the back of his shirt.
Shaqiri was clearly highly motivated to win the game and secure qualification for his home country, but after a heated altercation with Serbia’s substitutes during the second half, he was replaced by Yakin.
However, on an emotional and tense night, Shaqiri was able to keep his head in difficult circumstances.
3. Serbia disappoints once again
Serbia has consistently produced some of the most talented players in Europe, many of whom are performing in the continent’s top leagues, but once again, they fared poorly in the World Cup and were eliminated in the group stage.
Other than fulham Forward Aleksandar Mitrovic, who scored three goals in Qatar, failed to deliver for Dragan Stojkovic’s Serbian team.
Since the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, Serbia has featured in four World Cups and failed to progress past the knock-out rounds on each occasion.
but this time, in a group with Brazil As clear qualifiers, Serbia lost twice and cameroon,
top players like dusan vlahovic, dusan tadic, luka jovic And Mitrovic should have given Serbia more than enough to get them out of their group.
But despite taking the lead against Switzerland with goals from Mitrović and Vlahović, Serbia could not hold on to the win that would have taken them ahead and their defeat meant they finished bottom of the group.
player ratings
Serbia: Vanja Milinkovic-Savic 6; Strahinja Pavlovic 5, Nikola Milenkovic 5, Milos Veljkovic 6; Andrija Zivkovic 6, Sasa Lukic 5, Filip Kostic 6, Serj Milinkovic-Savic 6; Dusan Tadic 6, Aleksandar Mitrovic 8, Dusan Vlahovic 6.
sub: Nemanja Gudelj 6, Luka Jovic 6, Nemanja Maksimovic 6, Filip Juricic 6, Nemanja Radonjic 6
Switzerland: Gregor Kobel 7; Sylvan Vidmar 6, Manuel Akanji 7, Ricardo Rodriguez 6, Fabian Scheer 6; Remo Freiler 7, Granit Xhaka 7, Djibril Sou 6, Shirdan Shaqiri 7; Brill Embolo 7, Ruben Vargas 6.
sub: Dennis Zakaria 6, Christian Fasnacht 6, Noah Okafor 6
best and worst performers
Best: Aleksandar Mitrovic, Serbia
The Serbian forward scored a superb header and then set up a goal for teammate Dusan Vlahovic. Serbia has had a poor tournament, but Mitrovic has been excellent.
Bad: Strahinja Pavlovic, Serbia
The Serbia defender made some brave blocks, but his concentration and positioning were so poor that Switzerland targeted him constantly and he scored from his mistakes.
Highlights and Notable Moments
With a place in the World Cup knockout rounds, the match was a back-and-forth affair, with Xherdan Shaqiri putting Switzerland ahead in the 20th minute.
But it took only six minutes for Serbia to hit back and equalize through Aleksandar Mitrovic.
equalizer 🔥
Beautiful ball and header by Serbia 🇷🇸 pic.twitter.com/GgmSelcQvN
— Fox Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 2, 2022
Not long after, Dusan Vlahovic scored again for Serbia to give them the lead.
But it was short-lived as Switzerland got behind the Serbian back line in transition and Briel Embolo equalised.
Breel Embolo made sure to look straight at the camera after his goal 🎥👀 pic.twitter.com/LLTbWqT4SD
— Fox Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 2, 2022
After taking the lead and then falling behind, Switzerland found their way back on top when it counted, with Remo Freiler scoring the game-winner in the 48th minute.
However, this match may be remembered just as much for how tense it was as for its many spectacular goals.
Midway through the second half, the Serbian players were convinced they had earned a penalty, which was disallowed by the referee, but the players were not taking it and began a brief scuffle with the Swiss players.
Serbia’s bench comes onto the field in frustration after not being given a penalty for a challenge on Aleksandar Mitrovic pic.twitter.com/NmBM8DNQC9
— Fox Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 2, 2022
After the match: What the players and managers said
Check back soon…
Key Stats (Provided by ESPN Stats & Info)
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Sherdan Shaqiri scored his fifth goal at the World Cup, the second most for Switzerland behind Josef “Sepp” Hugi, who scored six.
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Xherdan Shaqiri: The first Swiss player to score in three FIFA World Cups – he scored three goals in 2014 and once in 2018.
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Three players have scored in the last three FIFA World Cups: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Xherdan Shaqiri.
next
Serbia: With their defeat (and Cameroon’s victory), Friday’s match was the end of the road for Serbia, who are out of the World Cup.
Switzerland: The Swiss side joins Brazil in the top two of Group G and they advance to the round of 16 to face Portugal.