Serbia 1 Switzerland 2: Xherdan Shaqiri seals Swiss World Cup comeback as Granit Xhaka and Aleksandar Mitrovic strike

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Joe Doyle22 June 2018

A last-gasp winner for Xherdan Shaqiri stole the points for Switzerland with a 2-1 victory as Serbia missed out on an opportunity to secure qualification to the knockout round of the World Cup.

Goals from Fulham target Aleksandar Mitrovic and Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka looked likely to split the points in Kaliningrad, but Shaqiri's late finish gave the Swiss side a priceless three points and puts them in the driving seat to reach the second round.

Switzerland were given an early warning from Mitrovic, who had a header stopped after four minutes by Yann Sommer.

But just a minute later Dusan Tadic whipped in a delicious cross for the Newcastle United striker to head home.

AFP/Getty Images

The Swiss forged a clear chance as Haris Seferovic was found in the area, but his flicked-effort was saved well by Vladimir Stojkovic low to his right. It was the only real effort of note in the first half from Vladimir Petkovic's side, as Serbia set the tempo and created the lion's share of openings.

Switzerland came out strongly in the second half, Xhaka made his impact after 52 minutes with a typically powerful effort from distance to beat Stojkovic.

AP

Shaqiri then came close to putting the Swiss ahead, whipping a stunning effort off the post from wide on the right side of the penalty area.

Mitrovic had claims for a penalty turned down, as he attempted to shrug off the attention of Fabian Schar and new Arsenal right-back Stephan Lichtsteiner.

AFP/Getty Images

That proved costly for Serbia, as Xhaka struck at the death to seal all three points in a tight group.

AP

Next up for Serbia are Brazil, while the Swiss - who face Costa Rica - will qualify as long as they match Serbia's result.

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