Switzerland victory over Serbia 2-1

Switzerland are the first team to win a match after conceding first in this World Cup. A story of two halves with Serbia dominating the first and Switzerland doing the same in the second. Group E is now wide open and it will take a supercomputer to list out all the possibilities.

GOAL! Serbia 1-2 Switzerland (Shaqiri 90 mins)

Shaqiri one on one with then keeper and he keeps his cool to stroke it into goal. Like Xhaka, he also does the double eagle celebration. Certainly the biggest goal of his career. Switzerland are still in the race for the Round of 16 because of that. 

 

 

85 mins

Free-kick for Switzerland about 25 yards out, Rodriguez and Shaqiri standing over it. Rodriguez takes, it hits the wall and out for a corner. 

83 mins

Shaqiri with a turn on a coin to lose a defender and he unleashes a shot from more than 30 yards out. Moments later, Embolo plays in Gavranovic but his shot is saved by the keeper. 

81 mins

Shaqiri tries to make his way into the box and find space but is stopped by a defender. Later on, Ivanovic almost stabs it past his own goalkeeper but it goes out for a corner. Ivanovic raises his hands to apologise. 

74 mins

Riccardo Rodriguez is off the pitch to gets some blood cleaned from his face. He seems to be suggesting that it was caused  by someone's elbow. Gavranovic seemed to have been played in and in lot of space but he was offside. 

71 mins

That could have and should have been a VAR moment. Tadic with a cross into the box and Mitrovic is obviously being held down by two defenders. Referee doesn't even consider it for a moment and Mitrovic asks for an explanation. Instead, he gets a stern talking to from the ref. Nonsense.

61 mins

It's all Switzerland at the moment. How one goal can change a match. Granit Xhaka after scoring that goal, celebrated by making a double eagle sign which is mostly considered a symbol for Albania, a country that has historically fractious relations with Serbia. Xhaka is of Albanian and Kosovar heritage, not sure how happy the Serbians will be with that little gesture.
 

57 mins

Shaqiri almost scores a goal that could have become the goal of the tournament. The Stoke City man (for now) takes the ball right side of the box and wheels around to take a rather audacious shot at the far post. The ball curls and hits the post on the way out. Switzerland on the ascendancy. 

GOAL! XHAKA GOLAZZO!! Serbia 1-1 Switzerland (Xhaka 52 mins)

Switzerland try to piece together an attack but it roles out, Xhaka latches on to it first time and the ball takes a mean curl and beats the keeper to settle in the bottom corner. That is the kind of strike that wins you tournament. A true-blue golazzo. 

46 mins

Serbia start on the front foot but there are yet to be any chances on either side. 

HALF TIME! Serbia 1-0 Switzerland

Mitrovic and Shaqiri arguing about something as they walk off the pitch. Mitrovic was the one who had expressed anger at Shaqiri's choice of boots - one of which has got a flag of Kosovo - before the start of this World Cup. But he has been brilliant in this first half and has been a constant threat. Serbia will take this any day of the week. 

45 mins

Mitrovic heads the ball down for Tadic outside the box. The Southampton man volleys it first time. A sensational effort that is just over the bar. 

41 mins

Tadic enters the box from the left and crosses it to Matic on the far side. Matic tries a pass across the face of goal that the Swiss keeper gets a hand to before it goes out. Ivanovic's long throw-in is met by Mitrovic's head but it goes over the bar. 

36 mins

Kolarov free kick swerved into the box, it is cleared and comes to Tadic around 20 yards outside goal. Tadic lines up a shot, it is on target but straight at the keeper. 

32 mins

Switzerland picking up pace now. Shaqiri with a clever pass cross field to Dzemaili who is clear on goal. But he takes a bizarre decision to cross it to a team mate running down the far side of the box. the attack simply fizzes out by itself. Serbia didn't need to do much to avert the danger, Switzerland made it and broke it all by themselves. 

29 mins, Switzerland chance!

Zuber with a dinked pass into the box and Dzemaili comes rushing in, Serbian keeper Stojkovic comes in to block the latter's effort. That was a close call there. 

22 mins

Ivanovic's cross picked up by Mitrovic, who is toying around with his marker Schaar, the Newcastle man chests the ball and tries an overhead kick. It is over the bar. 

15 mins

All Switzerland at the moment but they are not able to get more than two passes together in the final third. Serbia would take that all day. 

13 mins

Ivanovic with a shot from outside the box right side of the D and the Swiss keeper palms it out, it comes back to Mitrovic who tries to head it back in first time but the ball is over. 

GOAL! Serbia 1-0 Switzerland (Mitrovic 5 mins)

Sustained pressure from Serbia pays off, Aleksander Mitrovic finds the target once again. Tadic's cross into the box and Mitrovic beats Schaarr to put it in the back of the net. 

KICK OFF

The teams walk out, captains Aleksandar Kolarov and Stephan Lichsteiner shake hands and Switzerland kick off the proceedings at the Kaliningrad stadium. 

There is a political angle to this match

Swiss stars Xerdan Shaqiri, Granit Xhaka and Valon Behrami all have roots tying them to Kosovo, a country that declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Serbia still doesn't recognise Kosovo but the country's national team got FIFA and UEFA recognition in 2016. Before that the likes of Shaqiri were its loudest advocates. For example, this was Shaqiri's post six days before Kosovo's international friendly against Albania.

TEAMS!

Serbia: Stojkovic; Ivanovic, Milenkovic, Tosic, Kolarov; Matic, Milivojevic; Tadic, Milinkovic-Savic, Kostic; Mitrovic
Subs: Rukavina, Spajic, Zivkovic, Prijovic, Rajkovic, Veljkovic, Rodic, Grujic, Ljajic, Radonjic, Jovic Dmitrovic
Switzerland: Sommer; Lichtsteiner, Schär, Akanji, Rodriguez; Xhaka, Behrami; Shaqiri, Dzemaili, Zuber; Seferovic
Subs: Moubandje, Elvedi, Lang, Embolo, Freuler, Mvogo, Fernandes, Gavranovic, Drmic, Djourou, Bürki

Source: https://indianexpress.com