Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Ramadan 17, 1445 H
broken clouds
weather
OMAN
23°C / 23°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Seferovic hat-trick helps Swiss stun Belgium

1049358
1049358
minus
plus

PARIS: Haris Seferovic starred with a hat-trick as Switzerland staged a sensational comeback to thrash Belgium 5-2 in Lucerne on Sunday and qualify for the Nations League finals in dramatic fashion. Thorgan Hazard’s early double left Switzerland needing to win by two goals to qualify from Group A2 but the hosts quickly fought back, with Ricardo Rodriguez’s penalty and Seferovic’s first two goals seeing them into a 3-2 half-time lead. Nico Elvedi nodded home a Xherdan Shaqiri cross in the 62nd minute, and Vladimir Petkovic’s men sealed a stunning win when Seferovic completed his treble late on.


“I want to congratulate each player, there was a big mental reaction, the players never gave up, they always believed,” said Swiss coach Petkovic. “They played with will, intelligence and with their heads.” Switzerland will play at the finals in June next year, alongside Portugal and England, with the final spot going to either France or the Netherlands on Monday. Roberto Martinez’s men saw their six-match unbeaten run since reaching the World Cup semifinals brought to an shuddering halt. “We forgot to defend well, we gave Switzerland the opportunity to get back in the game,” said Spanish coach Martinez. “We had a lot of excitement, we really wanted to finish top of the group. The disappointment will make us more focused when the (Euro 2020) qualification starts.”


Liverpool forward Shaqiri headed the ball across goal for Seferovic to tap in his first just after the half-hour mark to keep the game alive. Benfica striker Seferovic sent the crowd in Lucerne into raptures with a wonderful curling finish shortly before half-time as a famous fightback beckoned. Shaqiri was the architect of the all-important fourth goal, creating space for a whipped cross which only needed a glancing touch from Elvedi. Belgium still only needed one goal to snatch top spot in the group, but Seferovic put that beyond reach of the away side by twisting to head home in the 84th minute. — AFP


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon