Shaqiri seals Swiss win over Serbia, amazing turn around by Swiss
Switzerland came from behind to beat Serbia 2-1 at the Kaliningrad stadium in an exhilarating group E fixture to claim first 3 points in the tournament.
The Swiss came under fire in the opening minutes from ‘militant’ Serbian strike, only conceding a goal as early as the 5th minute through a Dusan Tadic cross flying past Serbian defenders before finding Aleksandar Mitrovic’s head into the net.
The chances were few and between as the teams were exchanging blows throughout the first half.
Switzerland came close to equalizing in the 45th minute with Southampton midfielder, Dusan Tadic, half volleying wide off target.
The Serbian defence was finally pulled apart by a sumptuous Granit Xhaka power shot in the 52nd minute to equalise for the Swiss, the Arsenal playmaker’s 10th goal in 65 appearances for the side.
Stoke City’s Xherdan Shaqiri came close to nearly stretching the lead with a fortuitous shot hitting the upright and not really troubling the keeper.
Serbia was made to pay for all the wasted opportunies in the opening quarter, when Switzerland extended the lead, with Xherdan Shaqiri carrying the ball from outside the 18yard area running past the Serbian defence before slotting the ball past Serbian shot stopper Vladimir Stojkovic.
Switzerland with 3 points are now 3rd on the standings, a point behind group E leaders Serbia and Brazil with 4 points each, Costa Rica bow out of the tournament with no point in first 2 matches.