World Cup 2018: 3 things Switzerland did right against Serbia

The 26th fixture of FIFA World Cup 2018 turned out to be an engaging contest between Serbia and Switzerland, wherein the latter pulled off a solid 2-1 victory at the Kaliningrad Stadium on Friday (June 22).

Serbia started off strongly. Predictably, it was Aleksander Mitrovic who stepped up yet again to put his team in the driver's seat with a strong header in just the 5th minute of the game. The scoreline remained 1-0 through the first half: while the Swiss struggled to infuse rhythm into their attack, they worked their socks off in defence, so as to stop the Serbs from doubling their lead.

The narrative took a completely different turn in the second half, as the Men in White came into their own to transfigure persistence into precision upfront. Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri found the back of the net to take their team over the line, thereby giving themselves a substantial chance of making it to the knockout stage.

Here are three things Switzerland got right against Serbia:

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#3 Holding their nerves after the opening goal

When Switzerland took on Serbia on the day, no team had managed to win a match after conceding the first goal in the tournament up until that point. Moreover, the Swiss had won just one of their last 18 World Cup encounters in which they were behind at any point in the game.

The stats seemed to line up against them and at one stage of the match, it seemed like they would be lucky to extract a point from the encounter.

Despite conceding the goal within the first few minutes, though, Switzerland managed to keep their wits about themselves and defended with resilience, rigidity, and readiness. Fabian Schar and Manuel Akanji combined well, as the former put in crucial tackles and the latter concentrated on aerial duels.

It was this defensive sturdiness from Petkovic's team that kept them in contention and ultimately, helped them regroup and resurge in the second half of the game.

#2 Running rampant in the 2nd half

Xhaka equalized in the 52nd minute of the game

Stephen Lichsteiner and Co. were put under immense pressure through the first half of the game but managed to hang in without conceding after the opening goal. The fact that they got their first corner in the 25th minute, points to their dominance, or lack thereof, in the initial chunk of the match.

Half-time came like a blessing for Switzerland, as it gave them a chance to reassemble and get themselves in order. It worked wonderfully for them, as they scored an equalizer in the seventh minute of the second half when Xhaka shot a rocket from his left foot from 25 yards out.

Thereafter, the pendulum of momentum swung towards the Swiss, as they created consistent pressure and looked more potent on the attack. It was Shaqiri who scored the winner in the 90th minute of the match, as he slalomed past the Serbian defence to make his team the first side to come from behind to clinch a victory in the tournament.

#3 Getting the substitutions right

Petkovic hit the bull's eye with his timely and precise substitutions against Serbia

The Swiss head coach was well-aware of everything that went on in the game and thus, made the right substitutions through its length. He replaced Haris Seferovic with Mario Gavranovic at halftime and the decision proved to be crucial to Switzerland's victory on the day.

The striker was not just an upgrade on Seferovic's indifferent form on the day but was instrumental in creating and sustaining his team's attacking intensity in the second half. He assisted the second goal and was a vital cog to the turnaround in the game.

Breel Embolo, who was brought on for Blerim Dzemaili in the 73rd minute, also helped in adding dynamism and freshness to the Swiss front line, thereby creating a cauldron of consistent pressure around the Serbian defence.