Switzerland clinched the bottom spot of the 2022 World Cup knockout phase on Friday with a win over Serbia. The European team started the day with second place in Group G, as Brazil already secured a place in the next phase. Serbia, needing a victory to advance in the competition, did not make it easy for the Swiss squad.
Xerdan Shaqiri, Breel Embolo and Remo Freuler were on the scoreboard the night Switzerland beat Serbia 3-2. There were two different leadership changes in the mass party. Serbia fought back with two goals in nine minutes, but ultimately could not stop the Swiss from scoring on goal.
Switzerland and Serbia full of skirmishes
The game was hectic from start to finish. There were 31 total fouls and 11 yellow cards issued by the referee. Multiple clashes between players on both sides also broke out throughout the duration of the match.
Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka was in the thick of skirmishes several times in the second half. The Swiss captain even received a yellow card for incidents involving two different Serbian players in added time.
These two teams have a bit of an interesting history together. Serbia and Switzerland also met at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The Swiss also won this matchup.
However, the main topic of conversation in that particular game was how Shaqiri and Xhaka celebrated their goals. Each one formed an eagle with their hands and sticking out their tongues. This was to symbolize the Albanian flag, which both players have roots to. Serbia and Kosovo have been under tension since the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s.
Brazil maintains first place despite defeat
In the rest of the group, Brazil ended up losing to Cameroon thanks to a goal by Vincent Aboubakar in the 92nd minute of the game. The defeat, however, in the end did not mean much. The Brazilians still finished top of their group.
Switzerland will now face Portugal in the knockout round on Tuesday. Brazil, on the other hand, plays South Korea on Monday.
PHOTO: IMAGO/Xinhua
