Switzerland have virtually booked a Round of 16 spot after coming from behind to draw 1-1 with Romania at the Parc des Princes in Paris, earlier today.
The match was billed as a close one, even prior to kick-off, and it certainly looked that way until the Romanians broke the deadlock. On the 17th minute mark, they were handed a spot-kick after a foul inside the box and Bogdan Stancu made no mistakes by dispatching it comfortably to make it 1-0.
The Swiss lads huffed and puffed but they struggled to find a way past Romania’s resilient defence, led by Cristian Sapunaru and Vlad Chiriches. Eventually in the second half, Admir Mehmedi fired a sweet left-footed strike into the net to restore parity and make it 1-1.
Despite a flurry of late attempts from Switzerland, Romania did just about enough to hold on and seal one point, though they’d be utterly disappointed with the result, having been in the lead for large portions of the game. That said, here are three players that impressed tonight!
Admer Mehmedi
Having had a solid season with Leverkusen, Mehmedi was always expected to be a key man for Switzerland. And he did live up to his hype by scoring a clinical goal to help his team claim one point today. Mehmedi was a constant nuisance for the Romanian defence, distracting them with his regular runs across the channel. He was slightly guilty of being wasteful early on in the game, but compensated for it by netting a powerful shot in the second half.
Cristian Sapunaru
The 32 year-old led by example today, keeping the likes of Shaqiri, and Mehmedi quiet. Switzerland did create chances going forward, partially due to Romania’s issues in midfield. But a major part of why they only managed to score one, was Sapunaru’s influence at the back. His reading of the game was first class and he was also a threat during set-piece situations. There was barely anything he could do to stop Mehmedi from scoring the goal, which is the only unfortunate blip in what was otherwise a top notch showing.
Granit Xhaka
All eyes were in him yet again, after his high-profile move to Arsenal. But the Swiss midfielder continued to show why he’s so highly rated by Arsene Wenger, bossing the midfield en route to being voted Man of the Match for the second time in this competition. Xhaka’s distribution was fantastic albeit several occassions, where he failed to accurately time his deliveries. Otherwise, Xhaka was fantastic.
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