Thank you for tuning into Sportskeeda's coverage of Wales vs Switzerland in Euro 2020. This is your host, Sayak Dipta Dey signing off until next time.
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Four of Kieffer Moore's six goals for Wales in all competitions have been headers, while three of Wales' last four goals at the European Championships have been headers.
Switzerland dominated the first half with more possible scoring chances and a larger share of possession. They deservingly went ahead in the second half after an exemplary show of muscle and pace from Breel Embolo from a Swiss corner. Switzerland grew stronger as the game progressed but were sent on the backfoot after Wales equalised through Kieffer Moore, who scored from a header.
Wales had a short period of dominance in the final third of the second half but Switzerland took over the proceedings of the game yet again in the final few minutes before the final whistle. This is also the first draw between the two sides.
Italy lead the Group A standings with 3 points while Wales and Switzerland share a point apiece on Match Day 1 while Turkey lurk at the bottom in the group.
FULL TIME: Wales 1-1 Switzerland (Moore, Embolo)
90+5' Switzerland have upped the ante in the last few minutes and are earning corners after corners to keep the Welsh defence on the back foot. They have their 12th corner of the game swung in but the final delivery from Granit Xhaka is straight to the safe hands of Daniel Ward.
90+4' Substitution (Wales): Aaron Ramsey is subbed off after putting a mighty shift in the wing areas and is replaced by Chelsea starlet Ethan Ampadu.
90+3' SAVE! Daniel Ward makes yet another exceptional save as he tips Zakaria's attempt on goal away from the goal.
90+2' Switzerland get a series of corners from either side of the field but they yield no result. Wales are sitting deep and are happy to defend.
90' Additional Time: 5 Minutes.
90' SAVE! Daniel Ward denies Switzerland the lead from the corner as Embolo outfoxes Joe Allen in the box to head a corner on to the target but Ward saves.
89' Gareth Bale has the chance to dispatch the ball into the back of the Swiss net but the Real Madrid winger scuffs the ball off his feet and it is straight to Sammer.
88' Remo Freuler goes solo after receiving the ball in the middle but his final shot is loose and way off target.
85' WOAH! Mario Gavranovic finds the back of the net right after coming into the pitch off the bench after a quick one-touch play from Switzerland but the goal is checked by VAR and Gavranovic is spotted well offside when the pass was made from Embolo inside the box. A sigh of relief from the Welsh players on the pitch. The scoreline stays 1-1.
84' Substitution (Switzerland): Haris Seferovic departs after failing to test the Welsh defence and Mario Gavranovic comes in.
83' CLOSE! Wales with a brilliant passage of play almost carve out the Swiss back four. Gareth Bale and David Brooks showboat some quick combination play as Brooks' final delivery into the box is inches away from Aaron Ramsey who falls short with his stretch at the ball.
81' Zakaria has a shot on goal from outside the box but his shot hits Joe Allen and the shot is blocked.
79' Ben Davies has a go at goal from distance, well wide of the target.
77' MISS! Switzerland come agonisingly close to restoring their lead after Embolo fails to connect his header to an exemplary cross from Zakaria from the right. We are set for a grand stand finish here as both teams hunt for a potential winning goal.
75' Substitution (Wales): Daniel James is removed right after the goal and he is surprised himself. David Brooks takes his place.
74' GOAL! Kieffer Moore heads into the back of the net after rising higher than everybody in the Swiss box and connects a pin-point delivery from Joe Morrell as Wales equalise, 1-1 in Baku. That move was right out from the training pitch from the initial corner.
73' Wales are having a bit of territorial domination in the Switzerland half for a while but lack precision and conciseness in their passing to carve out the Swiss defence.
70' Switzerland have put bodies behind the ball in numbers. Perhaps, Petkovic has asked his men to be defensive for the rest of the game and see this 1-0 lead out.
67' Substitution (Switzerland): Xherdan Shaqiri leaves the pitch after putting on a tedious shift in the midfield and is replaced by Denis Zakaria.
65' Breel Embolo is top of his game in the second half. He makes a quick solo run to the left side of the Wales box and has a go at goal, and misses the target by a few centimetres.
64' CLOSE! A delicious delivery from Aaron Ramsey goes through the barrage of Wales and Swiss shirts in the box. The intended target was Kieffer Moore who was close to the floated delivery but did not time his jump to the required perfection.
63' YELLOW! Mbabu is booked for a rough challenge from the back on Daniel James. He did get a lot of the ball but also was reckless from behind. Wales have a set-piece situation to make good use of.
60' Ben Davies dispatches a shot on goal but fails to control the momentum of the ball and it swirls away from the target after a slight deflection. The resultant corner is also wayward of the danger area and Switzerland get back on the ball.
58' Wales are a lot more on the ball in the second-half compared to the first half but lack penetration into the Swiss defence. They are using the wings in tandem through James and Bale but the Swiss center backs are upto the mark while dealing with any aerial delivery.
56' A decent passage of play from Wales for the first time in the game. Daniel James makes a central run from the wings to play out Joe Allen in the wings whose delivery towards Kieffer Moore is acrobatically cleared away by Nico Elvedi.
55' Aaron Ramsey collides with Mbabu and Switzerland earn a free-kick in the middle areas.
52' Switzerland are all ends up against Wales after the first goal. It is the goal scorer, Embolo on the charge yet again and his shot across the face of the goal goes past everybody in the Wales box for a goal-kick.
49' GOAL! It is the man himself who created the corner. Breel Embolo heads the resultant corner as Connor Roberts fails to mark the Swiss striker inside the box and Switzerland take the deserving 1-0 lead.
49' SAVE! A powerful and sensational run from Breel Embolo outfoxes the entirety of the Welsh defence but the Swiss number 7 fails to get past the towering Daniel Ward and Switzerland have a corner.
47' YELLOW! Kieffer Moore is booked for an elbowed challenge on Fabian Schur while challenging for an aerial duel. Schur is being attended by the medical team.
Switzerland were clearly the better side of the two in the first 45 minutes. The Swiss had more of the ball and carved out a lot of scoring chances, but none of them definite enough to get the opening goal.
Seferovic had around three chances to give Switzerland the lead but failed to get clean shots on goal. Kieffar Moore came close to scoring for Wales in a counter attacking move but was denied by a brilliant Hans Sommer save.
All to play for in the second-half. Stay tuned to Sportskeeda for all the LIVE updates from Wales vs Switzerland.
45+2' MISS! Breel Embolo takes down a cross brilliantly with an exemplary first touch to set up Haris Seferovic who latches on to it a little earlier than necessary and skews his attempt on goal, wide.
45' Additional Time: 2 Minutes.
45' Rodriguez's corner is headed away by Joe Rodon but Swiss get the ball back.
44' Xherdan Shaqiri's delivery from the set-piece is headed away for a Switzerland corner by Gareth Bale.
43' Kevin Mbabu is in some considerable amount of pain after being nudged on by Ben Davies from the back against momentum. The challenge looks like a yellow card offence but Davies walks out fortunate out of the situation as Switzerland get a set-piece situation.
41' MISS! Haris Seferovic goes for goal after finding a decent opening but his shot is hurried, and is well wide of the target.
40' The tempo of the game has slowed down a bit as Switzerland now finding it hard to break Wales down in the final few minutes of the first-half.
37' Wales try to break on counter against a high Swiss defence but Aaron Ramsey does not manage to find Gareth Bale with the definitive long ball to the other wing and Switzerland recover with the ball back on their feet.
34' Switzerland get two consecutive corners delivered from the left corner flag. Manuel Alkanji tries to flick it off on like Schur but does not manage to pull it off. The second corner was comfortably headed away by Ben Davies in air.
31' Gareth Bale delivers in a mouth watering cross across the face of the goal towards Chris Mepham but the latter does not gamble quickly enough to the cross and Switzerland happily let it run out for a goal-kick.
30' YELLOW! Fabian Schur is booked for brinfing down Daniel James outside the Welsh box as the Manchester United winger was clear on goal after Welsh hit Switzerland on counter. Wales have an opportunity to go ahead in the game from a set-piece situation.
29' ALMOST! Xherdan Shaqiri makes a brilliant solo run in the middle and carves out the Welsh defence and almost finds Seferovic with a through ball but is brought down as Welsh somehow clear their lines with some desperate of defending.
27' MISS! A general all around brilliance from Switzerland. They are finding the spaces in the midfield with ease and a quick passage of free flowing football from the Swiss sets up Haris Seferovic who twists, turns and shoots wide of the target after receiving the initial pass inside the box.
24' WIDE! Granit Xhaka has another effort from distance but it is wide again after Connor Roberts made a defensive header to keep Kevin Mbabu's cross away from Haris Seferovic.
22' Switzerland are knocking the doors at Wales goal. Mbabu's cross is cleared away by Joe Rodon. The loose ball is with Rodriguez whose floated ball towards Seferovic is headed away wide of target.
20' SAVE! Switzerland get a corner swung in from the right and Fabian Schur shows a little bit of trickery and flicks the corner off his back foot, forcing a quick reaction save from Ward at goal for Wales.
19' Kieffar Moore is back on the pitch after a first aid on his head.
16' Moore and Mbabu clash on to each other while going for the corner and Moore has injured himself in the face, and is being given medical assistance.
15' SAVE! Kieffar Moore latches on to a quality delivery from Daniel James in the left and forces Yan Sommer to make an acrobatic save with a minimum reaction time. Wales get a corner. Top football all around.
12' Xherdan Shaqiri's cross towards Sefarovic is headed away by Ben Davies. The headed clearance falls to Granit Xhaka who dispatches a belter of a shot on goal but the ball takes a deflection of his own teammate and runs out for a goal-kick.
11' Switzerland are slowly building into the game by playing in the wide areas and stetching out the Wales back-four after an initial Wales charge after kick-off. The Swiss look confident on the ball and have more of the possession inside the Welsh half.
9' Chris Mepham makes a lunging challenge on Kevin Mbabu to earn the ball in the Welsh half.
7' Rodriguez delivers the resultant corner but Wales clear their lines away.
6' Ricardo Rodriguez whips in a swirling cross towards Breel Embolo who rises higher than everybody in the box and connects the header, which takes a deflection of a Welsh header in the box as Switzerland earn a corner.
5' A good passage of play from Switzerland in the Wales half but they do not manage to find the gaps in the Wales defence after a couple of futile lofted balls through to Haris Seferovic.
3' Gareth Bale drifts away from his marker down the right and whips in a delicious low cross into the middle towards Kieffar Moore but Fabian Schar clears it away for safety.
2' Daniel James with a cross in from the left after played out wide by Joe Allen. The delivery is straight to the safe hands of Yann Sommer.
0' KICK-OFF! Switzerland get us underway in warm and sunny conditions in Baku after the teams take a knee against Racism.
A quick look at the two teams before we get started.
Wales Official Starting XI: Danny Ward (GK); Chris Mepham. Ben Davies, Joe Rodon, Connor Roberts; Aaron Ramsey, Joe Allen, Joe Morrell, Gareth Bale (C), Kieffer Moore, Daniel James
Switzerland Official Starting XI: Yann Sommer (GK); Ricardo Rodriguez, Manuel Alkanji, Fabian Schar, Nico Elvedi, Kevin Mbabu; Remo Freuler, Granit Xhaka (C), Xherdan Shaqiri, Haris Seferovic, Breel Embolo
The National Anthems are sung loud and proud with utmost passion by both the sides. The customary pre-match team photographs are taken. We are all set for kick-off.
The teams are lined up the National Anthem.
The teams walk out to the middle in the Olympic Stadium in Baku. Wales have donned their home red colours and are led by their captain Gareth Bale. Switzerland have donned their away white colours and are led out by Granit Xhaka.
The teams are back into the dressing rooms to change into the matchday kits.
Ten members of the Switzerland squad were also involved at UEFA EURO 2016: Nico Elvedi, Breel Embolo, Admir Mehmedi, Ricardo Rodríguez, Fabian Schär, Haris Seferović, Xherdan Shaqiri, Yann Sommer, Denis Zakaria and Granit Xhaka, although Elvedi and Zakaria did not actually play in France.
Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka has not missed an international for over three years, since a friendly against Spain on 3 June 2018. In that time he has run up 33 successive appearances, the first 30 all in the starting XI. The last competitive international he failed to start was a FIFA World Cup qualifier in Hungary on 7 October 2016, for which he was suspended; he has been selected for all 35 since.
Two Switzerland squad members were domestic champions in 2020/21 – Gavranović with Dinamo Zagreb and Christian Fassnacht with Young Boys – while Manuel Akanji was the only domestic cup winner, helping Borussia Dortmund claim the DFB-Pokal.
Mario Gavranović scored three of Switzerland's goals against Liechtenstein – the only UEFA EURO 2020 participant to register a hat-trick in any of the pre-tournament friendlies. It was his first international treble.
Switzerland made it five wins in a row by defeating the United States 2-1 on 30 May and Liechtenstein 7-0 on 4 June, both in St Gallen
There are eight survivors from UEFA EURO 2016 in the Wales squad for this tournament: Joe Allen, Gareth Bale, Ben Davies, Chris Gunter, Wayne Hennessey, Aaron Ramsey, Danny Ward and Jonny Williams.
There are no 2020/21 domestic league winners in the Wales squad. Indeed, 15 of their UEFA EURO participants spent the season operating in the second or third tiers of English football. The only major trophy winners in the squad were Aaron Ramsey, who lifted the Coppa Italia with Juventus, and Danny Ward, who helped Leicester City capture the FA Cup – though neither played in the final.
Wales failed to score in their two pre-tournament friendlies, losing 3-0 to France in Nice and drawing 0-0 against Albania in Cardiff. Neco Williams was sent off after 26 minutes in the defeat by France, in which 19-year-old Rubin Colwill came off the bench to make his international debut.
Switzerland have gone for a three-man backline with Manuel Alkanji and Nico Elvedi as the two wing-backs while Xherdan Shaqiri and Breel Embolo will support Haris Seferović upfront. It looks like a 3-4-2-1 formation setup by Vladimir Petkovic.
Looking at the Wales line-up, it seems like Rob Page has opted for a four-man backline. Dan James, Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey will likely operate behind lone striker Kieffer Moore while Joe Morrell and Joe Allen are in holding midfield set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Wales Substitutes: Wayne Hennessey (GK), Adam Davies (GK), Chris Gunter, Neco Williams, Tom Lockyer, Harry Wilson, Tyler Roberts, Ethan Ampadu, Rhys Norrington-Davies, Jonny Williams, David Brooks, Dylan Levitt
Switzerland Substitutes: Yvon Mvogo (GK), Jonas Omlin, Silvan Widmer, Denis Zakaria, Ruben Vargas, Steven Zuber, Djibril Sow, Christian Fassnacht, Loris Benito, Admir Mehmedi, Mario Gavranovic, Eray Comert
Wales Official Starting XI: Danny Ward (GK); Chris Mepham. Ben Davies, Joe Rodon, Connor Roberts; Aaron Ramsey, Joe Allen, Joe Morrell, Gareth Bale (C), Kieffer Moore, Daniel James
Switzerland Official Starting XI: Yann Sommer (GK); Ricardo Rodriguez, Manuel Alkanji, Fabian Schar, Nico Elvedi, Kevin Mbabu; Remo Freuler, Granit Xhaka (C), Xherdan Shaqiri, Haris Seferovic, Breel Embolo
Switzerland finished fourth in the inaugural UEFA Nations League in 2019, losing 3-1 to hosts and eventual champions Portugal in the semi-finals and 6-5 on penalties to England in the third-place play-off after a goalless 120 minutes
A 1-0 loss away to Denmark in October 2019 is Switzerland's only defeat in their last 14 EURO fixtures, qualifying and final tournament combined (W8 D5). They were unbeaten at UEFA EURO 2016 (W1 D3), with their shoot-out elimination to Poland classed as a draw.
The Swiss booked their place at UEFA EURO 2020 by finishing first in Group D, taking 17 points from their eight qualifiers. They won four of their last five matches, scoring 13 goals and conceding only two in that five-game sequence with three clean sheets.
This is Switzerland's fourth successive appearance in a major tournament having also qualified for the 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cups, reaching the last 16 at both.
This is Switzerland's fifth EURO, all in the last seven editions of the competition. Eliminated in the group stage in 1996, 2004 and as co-hosts in 2008, they finished second in their section at UEFA EURO 2016 behind hosts France but bowed out in the last 16, losing 5-4 on penalties to Poland after a 1-1 draw.
As we build up to the second game of Euro 2020, have a read on what our experts at Sportskeeda including Paul Merson, Jim Beglin and Peter Pedroncelli have to say the possible champions of the tournament and potential Golden Boot winners.
Page played 90 minutes in both of Wales's first two games in Baku, a 2-0 win in UEFA EURO 2004 qualifying in November 2002 and a 1-1 draw in the preliminaries for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in September 2004.
Goals from Kieffer Moore and Harry Wilson earned Wales a 2-0 win away to Azerbaijan in UEFA EURO 2020 qualifying on 16 November 2019. That match, which took place at the 8 KM Stadionu, was Wales's fourth visit to Baku, where their record is W3 D1; this is their first match at the Olympic Stadium.
That 2016 campaign was only Wales's second appearance in a major tournament. They reached the quarter-finals at the 1958 FIFA World Cup where they were eliminated 1-0 by eventual winners Brazil.
Wales's previous best EURO performance came in 1976, when they went out to Yugoslavia 3-1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals. They fell 2-0 in the first leg in Zagreb before a 1-1 draw in Cardiff.
This is Wales's second successive UEFA European Championship, following their 2016 debut. It proved a memorable bow, as a team coached by Chris Coleman qualified first in their group ahead of England, Slovakia and Russia before beating Northern Ireland (1-0) and Belgium (3-1) to reach the country's first-ever semi-final at a UEFA or FIFA tournament at any level for men or women. Portugal proved too strong in the last four, however, the eventual champions running out 2-0 winners.
Meanwhile, read what Paul Merson has to say on his surprise picks for the Player of the Tournament award.
Wales vs Switzerland Head-to-Head:
The two teams have squared off seven times across all competitions. While three of their meetings have been friendlies, the remaining four games were all part of the qualification campaign for Euro 2000 and Euro 2012.This will be the first clash between the two sides at a European Championship tournament. Seven games so far have all produced conclusive results and the Swiss currently have the upper hand with five wins. Meanwhile, Y Dreigiau have recorded just two wins.
Wales failed to score a single goal in their two friendly fixtures against France and Albania. Meanwhile, Switzerland continued their winning streak across all competitions with a 2-1 win against the USA and a 7-0 thrashing of neighbors Liechtenstein.Wales made it all the way to the semi-finals in the 2016 edition. Meanwhile, the Rossocrociati's appearance in round 16 of the 2016 tournament was their best performance in the continental competition.
Hello, and welcome to Sportskeeda's live coverage of the UEFA Euro 2020! This is Sayak Dipta Dey, your host for the evening, and I'll keep you company as Wales host Switzerland in Match 2 in Group A.
We will bring you all the LIVE updates from Belgium vs Russia clash in Group B up next from 12.30 AM onwards tonight. Stay tuned to Sportskeeda for the comprehensive coverage of Euro 2020.
Wales had a short period of dominance in the final third of the second half but Switzerland took over the proceedings of the game yet again in the final few minutes before the final whistle. This is also the first draw between the two sides.
Italy lead the Group A standings with 3 points while Wales and Switzerland share a point apiece on Match Day 1 while Turkey lurk at the bottom in the group.
Switzerland were clearly the better side of the two in the first 45 minutes. The Swiss had more of the ball and carved out a lot of scoring chances, but none of them definite enough to get the opening goal.
Seferovic had around three chances to give Switzerland the lead but failed to get clean shots on goal. Kieffar Moore came close to scoring for Wales in a counter attacking move but was denied by a brilliant Hans Sommer save.
All to play for in the second-half. Stay tuned to Sportskeeda for all the LIVE updates from Wales vs Switzerland.
Wales Official Starting XI: Danny Ward (GK); Chris Mepham. Ben Davies, Joe Rodon, Connor Roberts; Aaron Ramsey, Joe Allen, Joe Morrell, Gareth Bale (C), Kieffer Moore, Daniel James
Switzerland Official Starting XI: Yann Sommer (GK); Ricardo Rodriguez, Manuel Alkanji, Fabian Schar, Nico Elvedi, Kevin Mbabu; Remo Freuler, Granit Xhaka (C), Xherdan Shaqiri, Haris Seferovic, Breel Embolo
Switzerland Substitutes: Yvon Mvogo (GK), Jonas Omlin, Silvan Widmer, Denis Zakaria, Ruben Vargas, Steven Zuber, Djibril Sow, Christian Fassnacht, Loris Benito, Admir Mehmedi, Mario Gavranovic, Eray Comert
Switzerland Official Starting XI: Yann Sommer (GK); Ricardo Rodriguez, Manuel Alkanji, Fabian Schar, Nico Elvedi, Kevin Mbabu; Remo Freuler, Granit Xhaka (C), Xherdan Shaqiri, Haris Seferovic, Breel Embolo
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The two teams have squared off seven times across all competitions. While three of their meetings have been friendlies, the remaining four games were all part of the qualification campaign for Euro 2000 and Euro 2012.This will be the first clash between the two sides at a European Championship tournament. Seven games so far have all produced conclusive results and the Swiss currently have the upper hand with five wins. Meanwhile, Y Dreigiau have recorded just two wins.
Wales vs Switzerland prediction, preview, team news and more | UEFA Euro 2020