Switzerland will face Portugal in the World Cup quarterfinals after beating Serbia 3-2 in a bad-tempered contest. Switzerland beat Serbia to reach the World Cup quarterfinals. Xherdan Shaqiri gave Switzerland the early lead, but Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic tied it before halftime. Remo Freuler’s goal after halftime sent Switzerland to the knockout rounds for the fourth time in five World Cups.
Switzerland beat Serbia to reach World Cup quarterfinals
In 2018, Xhaka and Shaqiri made pro-Kosovo gestures that angered the Serbs. The stadium announcer called for an end to “discriminatory shouts and gestures” 15 minutes after Serbia requested a penalty in Qatar on Friday. Shaqiri missed Switzerland’s 1-0 loss to Brazil but scored 20 minutes in.
Ricardo Rodriguez’s cross was cleared to Djibril Sow, who set up Shaqiri for the goal in front of the Serbian fans. No double-eagle this time. Shaqiri gestured to his shirt’s name as bottles rained down. Dusan Tadic crossed for Mitrovic to score after Switzerland lost possession in midfield.
Shaqiri veered wide under pressure from Pavlovic after timing his run to meet Rodriguez’s diagonal pass. But the Swiss were punished for another mistake of focus. Freuler’s attempted interception only helped Vlahovic score past Gregor Kobel.
Embolo equalized for Switzerland just before halftime after Sow found Silvan Widmer in space on the right. Cameroon’s attacker pressured Pavlovic for Switzerland’s third goal after halftime, which Freuler completed.
Shaqiri scored after Embolo chased down a delicate ball, and Freuler scored off Ruben Vargas’ back heel. Mitrovic’s dramatic fall sparked an angry incident that resulted in Serbian goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic getting booked.
The game had 11 yellow cards, the highest since 2010 final. Substitute Christian Fassnacht missed a late chance to calm the Swiss. A disagreement between Xhaka and Nikola Milenkovic threatened to boil over, but the Swiss advanced to face Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal.
