Flashpoint Goals Lift Swiss over Serbs

In one of the best matches in the World Cup so far, Switzerland and Serbia duked it out for inside position in Group E.

Brazil had already squeezed past this pool's tomato can -- aka Costa Rica -- so its current hold on top spot is tenuous, at best.

This match, then, signified the start of a Group E shakedown.

The Serbs were in win-&-in mode, while the Swiss already had a draw in hand with the Seleção.

 

While the Orlovi -- Орлови; the Eagles -- grabbed and held the lead in the early stages, those diligent Rossocrociati -- Red Crosses -- took their time probing for a Serb vulnerability that they knew had to be there.

It ultimately was.

 

But its roots had nothing to do with the Serb strategy itself.

The World Cup's done a great job keeping politics away from the field of play and points nearby. However, this one had a personal fuse in that Swiss stars Xherdan Shaqiri's and Granit Xhaka's families were Kosovo refugees.

Dude definitely had packed an extra dose of emotion toward the Serbs.

 

Perhaps this isn't the most delicate of phrasing, given the game's tone, but it's a fact that the Serbs seized control from the start.

Their pressure was intense by the fifth minute:

Immediately afterward, Aleksandar Mitrović was right there again to open the scoring with a powerful header:

If you're the tallest squad in the tournament, that's what you do.

And if you're the unflappable Swiss, you stay the course and pick your moment.

That's exactly what happened in the second half. Switzerland came back stronger and, in a perfect counterattack, scored the equalizer in the 52nd minute with a picturesque long-range strike from their other star of Bosnian heritage, Granit Xhaka:

There seemed to be no stopping the Rossocrociati from that point onward, although Serbia wasn't above taking any measures necessary.

Dudes were sailing close to the wind on their defending. On one occasion, the Swiss complained about a possible penalty on Stephan Lichtsteiner by Mitrović, but as the VAR wasn't summoned.

Playing as if possessed -- and maybe he was -- Shaquiri was a dervish the entire second half, as evidence by this effort in the 58th minute:

 

Under the circumstances, a draw wouldn't have been the worst outcome from Serbia's standpoint, and they almost held out long enough to gain one.

They actuallly made it to the 90th minute, but then the Swiss recovered the ball and again sought out Shaqiri, who made an incredible run at Vladimir Stojković's goal and sent home a laser.

 

The 1-2 result made for the first comeback victory in this World Cup.

 

It also tightened Group D's three-team race for two bracket positions:

The World Cup format calls for each group's third-round pairings to be played simultaneously to minimize the possibility of sandbagging.

There will be none of that next Wed 27 Jun, when Serbia and Brazil will be in a veritable death match and Switzerland must avoid a banana peel against Costa Rica.