Xherdan Shaqiri took off as soon as the ball hit the back of the net on Friday and it was no surprise where he was headed after scoring the first goal in Switzerland’s 3-2 win over Serbia, a result that put his team into the round of 16 at the FIFA World Cup for the third tournament in a row.
Born in Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008, Shaqiri ran straight to the opposing fans to celebrate — putting his finger to his lips after having been previously taunted by that section of the crowd.
The game was only 20 minutes old and the tension was palpable.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“You can hear by listening to my voice, it’s hoarse, that it was a game with a lot of emotions,” Switzerland midfielder Granit Xhaka said. “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.”
Most importantly for Switzerland, they went through to the knockout round after finishing second in Group G and next face Portugal at the Lusail Stadium.
However, the tensions surrounding Friday’s match-up always threatened to explode.
The countries met in the group stage at the World Cup in 2018, resulting in a Switzerland victory, but Shaqiri and Xhaka were fined for celebrating with hand gestures representing Albania’s national eagle symbol.
Xhaka and Shaqiri have Albanian heritage linked to Kosovo.
Serbia were also fined and warned by FIFA about the “display of discriminatory banners and messages” by supporters.
An announcement was made at Stadium 974 during Friday’s match that appeared to be in relation to chanting from Serbian fans.
FIFA would not say what the announcement was after the match.
“I didn’t hear it. Honestly, I didn’t hear,” Serbia coach Dragan Stojkovic said of the chants. “I was focusing on the game.”
There was enough happening on the field, including Remo Freuler’s winning goal just after halftime and several flare ups between the players.
“First of all, I want to enjoy the moment,” Switzerland coach Murat Yakin said after being asked about the behavior of his players during a ill-tempered match. “It cost us a lot of energy and emotions. We went through a lot.”
A number of Serbia’s substitutes burst onto the field in the second half when Aleksandar Mitrovic had a penalty appeal denied. Xhaka was at the heart of a heated melee late in the game.
“Sometimes, you know, tensions come and maybe bad words create uncomfortable behavior, but it is nothing special,” Stojkovic said. “It is normal for this kind of game.”
Shaqiri scored the opening goal and then played a key role in the winner. He clipped a ball into the penalty box for Ruben Vargas, who back-heeled to Freuler for the goal.
Despite those goals, Shaqiri was not happy to be substituted in the 69th minute. Before taking his seat on the bench, he whacked the side of the dugout with his elbow.
“No one likes to be substituted,” Yakin said. “Part of my responsibility is to protect the players. He scored a goal and had a great assist. He was very present and supported his teammates and made a difference.”
Goals from Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic had put Serbia in the lead in the first half, but Breel Embolo evened the score just before halftime.
Switzerland needed a win to guarantee themselves a place in the knockout round. Against Portugal, they will be looking to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since hosting the competition in 1954.
In the other game in the group, Vincent Aboubakar headed in a stoppage-time winner and was then sent off as Cameroon claimed a memorable 1-0 victory over Brazil, but still failed to go through to the last 16.
Aboubakar connected with a cross from substitute Jerome Ngom Mbekeli to break the deadlock in the 92nd minute at the Lusail Stadium.
He was booked for removing his shirt in the wild celebrations that followed and, having already been cautioned, had to leave his teammates to see out the remainder of the game.
They did so to record a famous win, the first for an African side against Brazil at a World Cup, but Switzerland’s defeat of Serbia at the same time put Cameroon out, with Brazil haveing already qualified before Friday.
“Despite the fact we won we are disappointed because we realize we could have done better,” Cameroon manager Rigobert Song said. “It is a shame to stop here, but we just need to see the positives and we will keep working.”
Brazil manager Tite sent out a second-string side and the result was Brazil’s first defeat in the group stage of a World Cup since 1998, when they were beaten by Norway.
Tite made nine changes, including handing a start to 39-year-old Dani Alves, making him Brazil’s oldest-ever men’s international player.
“Tonight we all lost, it is a collective defeat,” Tite said. “Nobody has won all three group games at this World Cup and the three teams who won their first two matches lost the next one. It just shows how difficult these matches are.”
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