Swiss snatch dramatic win to reach semis
Petkovic's men qualify for Nations League semis, after comeback win over Belgium
Haris Seferovic starred with a hat-trick as Switzerland staged a sensational comeback to thrash Belgium 5-2 in Lucerne yesterday morning (Singapore time) 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 League A, Group 2 but the hosts quickly fought back, with Ricardo Rodriguez's penalty and Seferovic's first two goals giving them 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 Petkovic.
"They played with will, intelligence and with their heads."
After a thrilling match that continued a trend of goal-filled encounters in the inaugural edition of the Nations League, Switzerland will play at the Finals in June next year, alongside European champions Portugal and England, with the final spot going to either France or Holland.
Roberto Martinez's men saw their six-match unbeaten run since reaching the World Cup semi-finals brought to a shuddering halt and were at a loss to explain their astonishing collapse. Some players felt the World Cup semi-finalists might have got carried away after they went two goals ahead after only 17 minutes.
Certainly there was a point shortly after their second goal, when Belgium were passing the ball around in midfield to cheers from their fans, where they seemed to be tempting fate.
"Arrogance? No, we were surprised on counter-attacks, we forgot to defend well," said Spanish coach Martinez.
"We really wanted to finish top of the group. The disappointment will make us more focused when the (Euro 2020) qualification starts."
BETTER HEAD TO HEAD
The Swiss, who lost 2-1 in Brussels, qualified for the semi-finals on their head-to-head record after both teams finished with nine points in Group A2.
"It's very difficult to give an explanation. We started well then, at a certain point, Switzerland had nothing to lose," said Martinez after losing only his second competitive match since taking charge following Euro 2016.
"We gave them opportunities to come back in the game. We must come out stronger, try to understand what we have done wrong. It is all the more painful that we had started very well."
Defender Thomas Meunier said Belgium had "everything in our own hands" after their flying start.
"It was a perfect game for us. We could have scored even more," he said.
"We just thought we reached the final four already. Tonight was the worst match with the Red Devils in my career."
Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois agreed that the team thought they were home and dry.
"After our 2-0 lead, the feeling went into our team that this cannot go wrong," he said.
"But this is a high-level competitive match and, hopefully, not reaching the final four will teach us a lesson for the future."
Midfielder Hazard described the game as bizarre.
"Maybe our start was just too good, we became too self-assured about our task," he said.
"With a 2-0 lead, we should never have given it away any more. We have to learn from our mistakes as today we learnt a very important lesson." - AFP, REUTERS
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