Xherdan Shaqiri celebrates victory in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia group E match between Serbia and Switzerland at Kaliningrad Stadium on June 22, 2018.Clive Rose/The Canadian Press
A thunderous strike by Granit Xhaka and a last-minute breakaway goal by Xherdan Shaqiri gave Switzerland a 2-1 win over Serbia on Friday in a swashbuckling World Cup Group E match tinged with Balkan rivalry.
Serbia went ahead with an Aleksandar Mitrovic header after five minutes to the delight of their fervent supporters at the Kaliningrad stadium.
Xhaka silenced the Serbian contingent in the 52nd minute, however, when he rifled home a loose ball in spectacular style from 25 meters before Shaqiri broke away to win the game at the death.
Xhaka and Shaqiri are among several members of the Swiss squad who are of Kosovar heritage, which added an extra dimension to the match.
Serbia refuses to recognize the independence of its former province Kosovo which broke away 10 years ago.
There was also controversy in the 65th minute when Mitrovic appeared to be held down as he went for a cross but the referee waved play on and there was no video review.
The result left Brazil, 2-0 winners over Costa Rica, top with four points, ahead of Switzerland on goal difference with Serbia on three.
Brazil and Serbia meet in their final game while the Swiss face Costa Rica, already eliminated after losing their first two games.
“We had a rollercoaster ride. They went 1-0 up and we found our balance in the second half,” Switzerland coach Vladimir Petkovic told reporters.
Serbia made a flying start and Mitrovic forced Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer into an early save with a close-range header.
Sommer was powerless, however, in the fifth minute when Nemanja Matic won the ball and found Dusan Tadic, whose cross was met with a soaring header from Mitrovic.
With Mitrovic proving a handful for the Swiss defence, Serbia threatened to overrun their opponents and missed another chance when a corner flew across the face of goal and Dusko Tosic just failed to make contact.
Switzerland came right back into the game seven minutes after halftime thanks to Xhaka’s fulminating strike after a rebound fell nicely into his path.
Xhaka was almost upstaged by Shaqiri who clipped the crossbar with a curling, dipping shot from the unlikeliest of angles and the match turned into a pulsating end-to-end affair which was brilliantly settled by Shaqiri.
Switzerland cleared a Serbia attack and a through pass sent the diminutive forward scuttling away before he slotted the ball neatly into the far corner.