- Thanks to two late goals against Belarus, the Swiss national team achieved a 3-3 draw in the European Championship qualification.
- After a defensively disastrous second half, the goals from Manuel Akanji (89th) and Zeki Amdouni (90th) saved the national team at least a point.
- Switzerland appeared dominant in the first half and deservedly took the lead thanks to Xherdan Shaqiri (28th).
- Because Romania clearly wins against Andorra, the national team has to give up the lead in the table.
For an hour in St. Gallen everything went as expected in the European Championship qualifying game between Switzerland and Belarus. The national team was 1-0 up, Xherdan Shaqiri scored beautifully with a curling shot in the 28th minute. With around four times as many passes played as their opponents, the Swiss tied the Belarusians at the back and had the game completely under control.
But then an almost inexplicable collapse followed – before the Swiss picked themselves up again and managed to win a point with their last effort and the necessary bit of luck. But first things first.
The national team revealed, not for the first time in this qualification campaign, defensive insecurities and negligence in concentration:
- 61st minute: Belarus equalizes through Maks Ebong. An attack on the left side ends in a cross into the penalty area, where unsorted Swiss let the opponent have his way.
- 69th minute: Corner for Belarus. Ricardo Rodriguez loses sight of his opponent, who heads in to take the lead without any problems.
- 84th minute: A long ball from the Belarusian defense suddenly becomes dangerous because Fabian Schär hits the ball. Dmitri Antilewski stays cool in front of the goal and makes it 3-1.
Comeback in the final minutes
Switzerland also had chances between the goals they conceded, but were unsuccessful in the end. Only in the final minutes and after the 1:3 did the national team increase the tempo significantly again. First, Champions League winner Manuel Akanji scored after a Shaqiri free kick to make it 2-3 (89′).
And less than 100 seconds later, Zeki Amdouni scored from close range to make it 3-3 after a mistake by Belarus keeper Sergei Ignatowitsch, who had often been strong before. The search for the winning goal began, but ended unsuccessfully despite seven minutes of added time. Also because Shaqiri’s shot was cleared off the line in the last minute.
Xhaka with a memorable record game
The turbulent final phase brings Granit Xhaka’s milestone closer, who played his 118th international match for Switzerland and is now a record player (together with Heinz Hermann), fades somewhat into the background. The captain was extremely present, especially in the opening phase of the game, and tried his luck several times from a distance. But he wasn’t immune to mistakes either: a loss of the ball initiated the corner, which then led to 1:2.
Thanks to the late comeback, the national team saved at least one point against the world number 105. Switzerland still had to give up the top position in the Group I table to Romania. The Romanians achieved an easy 4-0 win against Andorra. They are now one point ahead of Switzerland, but have also played one more game.
This is how it goes
The next and final installment of the European Championship qualifiers will take place in November. Switzerland will then have a tough program with three games within seven days. First it’s against Israel, followed by games against Kosovo and Romania.