Switzerland sealed their place in the last 16 of the World Cup after an entertaining five-goal victory over Serbia to exit the group stage.
Switzerland, who knew a draw would be enough to qualify, took an early lead through former Stoke and Liverpool forward Zardan Shaqiri.
Serbia turned it around in the first half, taking a 2-1 lead with goals from Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic and centre-forward partner Dusan Vlahovic – and they would have gone through under the circumstances.
The fun didn’t stop there, however, as Switzerland’s Briel Mbolo leveled the contest from close range on the stroke of half-time.
With Serbia needing a win, the second half promised more twists but it was Switzerland who struck next – Mbolo coolly slotting it into the net past Nottingham Forest’s Remo Freyler to make it 3-2. i did
There were more chances for both sides but Switzerland held on to set up a clash with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in the next round, while Serbia crashed out.
Swiss edge out Serbia in enthralling encounter
It was a game in which both teams swung back and forth, showing plenty of attacking intent and purpose.
Within 30 seconds of kick-off, Serbian goalkeeper Vanja Milncic-Savic had to pull off a superb triple save to keep out efforts from Granit Xhaka and Mbolo.
It set the tone for the match and Serbian midfielder Andreja Zovic hit the post before Shaqiri put Switzerland in front when his low shot deflected off Strahinja Pavlovic.
Shaqiri, who was booed loudly by the Serbian fans during the warm-up, ran straight towards them in celebration, pointing to his name on the back of his shirt with his finger to his mouth.
He caused controversy with his double eagle celebration in a 2-1 win over Serbia at the Russia World Cup four years ago.
Fulham striker Mitrovic responded moments later when he superbly headed a Dusan Tadic cross inside the far post and Serbia soon went 2-1 up when Vilhovic squeezed a left-footed shot into the corner.
But there was more to come when, on the stroke of half-time, Switzerland’s Embolo headed the ball over the line after a great pass from Sloan Widmer.
He later produced a smart backheel flick to set up Freyler’s match-winner and from then on, Switzerland grew in stature and looked favorites to see out victory.
Tensions escalated towards the end as Xhaka was shoved in the chest by Serbia’s Nikola Milenkovic and the retaliatory action resulted in both players being yellow carded by Switzerland.
