Switzerland’s Xherdan Shaqiri scored the opening goal in Switzerland’s 3-2 Group G victory over Serbia. The former Liverpool striker smashed a left-footed shot into the bottom right corner of Swiss goalkeeper Gregor Kobel’s net. He is now one of only three players to have scored in the last three FIFA World Cup tournaments, the other two being Lionel Messi of Argentina and Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal.
The Kosovo-born attacker has also scored for Switzerland in five major tournaments, including the previous two European Championships. Portugal captain Ronaldo is the only other player to have done so.
Shaqiri’s goal against Serbia was crucial for Nati in securing their place in the FIFA World Cup last 16. In the 26th minute, Aleksandr Mitrovic’s headed the equaliser, but Dusan Vlahovic added another in the 35th.
Breel Embolo brought Switzerland back into the game in the 44th minute before Remo Freuler scored the game-winning goal in the 48th. The Swiss came in second place in Group G and will now face Portugal in the round of 16 on December 6.
“You can hear by listening to my voice, it’s hoarse, that it was a game with a lot of emotions. It is part of football. The game was fair enough. We wanted to focus on football. We did this and we took this first step and are now into the round of 16. We are proud,”
Switzerland midfielder Granit Xhaka said after the game.
Ronaldo and Messi both have had an impact on the FIFA World Cup. The Portuguese converted a penalty in the first half of Selecao das Quinas’ 3-2 win over Ghana. Meanwhile, Messi scored a penalty kick in Argentina’s 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in their opener.
The Paris Saint-Germain attacker then scored a stunning goal in La Albiceleste’s crucial 2-0 win over Mexico. Argentina won 2-0 despite Messi missing a penalty in their final group-stage game versus Poland. Lionel Scaloni’s side will square up against Australia later on Saturday.
