Switzerland edge Serbia in goalfest to reach last 16, Cameroon upset Brazil

Qatar: Switzerland reached the World Cup knockout round for the third successive tournament after prevailing 3-2 over Serbia on Friday to finish runners-up in Group G and set up a last 16 showdown with Portugal.

In a contest that ebbed and flowed at breakneck speed in the first half at Stadium 974, Xherdan Shaqiri put Switzerland ahead but Serbia swiftly scored twice within 10 minutes through Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic to flip the game on its head.

Switzerland players celebrate with teammate Xherdan Shaqiri after he scored his side’s opening goal.Credit: AP

Breel Embolo delivered another twist in an absorbing opening period by pulling Switzerland side level just before the break, while Remo Freuler scored three minutes after the restart to restore their one-goal advantage again.

Switzerland had fired warning shots with barely 30 seconds on the clock, as captain Granit Xhaka’s strike was blocked by the Serbian defence before goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic denied both Embolo one-on-one and also Xhaka on the rebound.

Serbia enjoyed a spell of pressure after that early scare, with Nikola Milenkovic heading wide from Dusan Tadic’s corner before Andrija Zivkovic took aim from outside the penalty area and rattled the left post with a powerful effort.

Ricardo Rodriguez’s cross in the 20th minute was cleared and fell to Djibril Sow, who picked out Shaqiri on the right. The midfielder fired home a strike that took a slight deflection off Strahinja Pavlovic on its way into the net.

Fulham frontman Mitrovic headed in Tadic’s cross to deservedly draw Serbia level six minutes later. Tadic was involved again and slipped the ball through to Vlahovic, who steered a low shot past goalkeeper Gregor Kobel to complete the Serbian turnaround.

But Embolo slotted home Silvan Widmer’s low cross in the 44th minute and Freuler kept the momentum going by thumping in the fifth goal of the evening, as two wonderfully worked moves from the Swiss attack proved to be Serbia’s undoing.

Switzerland finished with six points, level with Group G winners Brazil but behind on goal difference. Serbia, who needed a win to give themselves a fighting chance of advancing, finished bottom of the group with only one point. They have never moved past the World Cup group stage since the breakup of Yugoslavia.

Cameroon 1, Brazil 0

Cameroon defeated a second-string Brazil team 1-0 in their final Group G match at the Lusail Stadium on Friday, but it was not enough as the African side were knocked out of the competition.

Cameroon finished third on four points, two points below second-placed Switzerland, who defeated Serbia 3-2. Brazil, who had already qualified, finished on top on goal difference with six points and will face South Korea in the last 16.

Fred, Antony and Bruno Guimaraes all came close to scoring, while Gabriel Martinelli was the stand-out player for the five-time champions, who looked set for a goalless draw.

But Cameroon finally broke the deadlock when Vincent Aboubakar powered in a header in the third minute of stoppage time before being sent off for collecting a second yellow card for taking off his shirt in the celebration.

South Korea 2, Portugal 1

South Korea scored an added-time goal to beat already-qualified Portugal 2-1 at the FIFA World Cup in a comeback win that sent the Asian side into the last 16 ahead of Uruguay on the number of goals scored.

Giorgian de Arrascaeta scored twice in six minutes to give Uruguay a 2-0 win over Ghana but it was not enough to prevent them crashing out of the tournament on goals scored.

It was the first time in two decades that la Celeste have failed to reach the knockout stage.

With the clock ticking down on South Korea’s time in the tournament, striker Son Heung-min ran free after a Portugal corner in added time and slipped a pass to Hwang Hee-chan who fired past Diogo Costa to spark wild celebrations.

After an early opener by Ricardo Horta for Portugal, Kim Young-gwon gave the Koreans hope in the 27th minute when a corner struck Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo on the back and fell kindly for the defender to sweep the ball home.

Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal reacts towards fans during match.Credit: Getty

Uruguay 2, Ghana 0

The last-gasp victory for South Korea catapulted them from fourth to second place in Group H ahead of Uruguay, who beat Ghana 2-0 in the group’s other game but failed to score enough goals to finish above the Asians. Portugal topped the group.

Unable to score in their first two matches, Uruguay needed a win to advance from Group H and for Portugal to avoid defeat by South Korea.

With South Korea tied with Portugal late in their match and Uruguay two goals up, the South American side had one foot in the last 16 before the pendulum swung in the direction of South Korea, who ahead in the table on goals scored.

Uruguay players show dejection after the team fails to qualify for the knockout stage.Credit: Getty

Uruguay battled desperately for the decisive goals, with Ferderico Valverde going close with a volley from outside the area and Maxi Gomex having his shot saved by keeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi two minutes from time.

Uruguay went on the attack right from the start of the match and finally broke the deadlock on 26 minutes when Darwin Nunez’s cross from the right was missed by two defenders and found Luis Suarez, whose low shot was spilled by the keeper for De Arrascaeta to head home from close range.

Uruguay struck again six minutes later, when Nunez flicked the ball on to Suarez, who knocked it on to De Arrascaeta to volley under the keeper.

The goals came just minutes after Ghana were awarded a penalty on in their first attack of the match, after a shot from Jordon Ayew was spilled by keeper Sergio Rochet, who pulled down by onrushing Mohammed Kudus.

Andre Ayew fired tamely at Rochet, giving Uruguay the impetus to double down on their attack.

Uruguay lacked the same kind of punch when they returned from the interval, however, and they failed to further break down Ghana and boost their goal difference, allowing South Korea to advance.

Reuters

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