Switzerland booked their place in the last 16 of the World Cup after a 2-2 draw with Costa Rica, but VAR was once again involved as the game ended in high drama.
Blerim Dzemaili gave the Swiss a first half lead before Kendall Waston levelled. Substitute Josip Drmic netted what looked to be the winner in the final minute of normal time, but two penalties, one given and one not, saw Costa Rica snatch a deserved point. Bryan Ruiz eventually stepped up, but his spotkick went in off Yann Sommer and was given as an own goal.
Here are four talking points from Nizhny Novgorod.
Switzerland weathered an early storm again before taking control
Successive defeats against Serbia and Brazil ended Costa Rica’s World Cup dream before kick off, but it seemed to free them of the pressure as they started with real purpose. Joel Campbell, the Arsenal winger, tested Sommer with a stinging effort after cutting in from the right-hand side, before the Switzerland goalkeeper then outdid himself with a superb stop from a powerful Celso Borges header. Daniel Colindres could hardly have been more unlucky as he crashed a shot against the bar from distance, going close with another testing effort inside the first 20 minutes. But that is the way Switzerland are used to starting games; slow, tentative and needing time to feel their way in. It was the same against Brazil and they came back to draw, and Serbia, who they beat late on. Vladimir Petkovic has instilled an inner belief and a calmness that has been a huge factor in their impressive form, losing one game in the last two years.
The game soon settled into a pattern and Switzerland grew in confidence, building from midfield with good possession. Granit Xhaka started to look forward with his passes as Costa Rica lost their momentum and defensive shape. It took just half an hour, but the Swiss soon grabbed the lead; Xherdan Shaqiri drifted in field to allow Stephen Lichtsteiner to get forward; he then played in the Arsenal new boy, whose cross was nodded down expertly by Breel Embolo. Dzemaili was there to lash the ball home, and he almost doubled the lead moments later, but his late runs continued cause problems. The second half started in the same way as the first; Costa Rica found their feet and equalised when Waston headed in Campbell’s corner eleven minutes after the restart and the match seemed to be heading for a quiet end until the late sting in the tail.
Breel Embolo offered a new dimension in the Swiss attack
Petkovic has done a great job in building a team ethic; Switzerland have very few players with the ability to grab games by the scruff of the neck in their ranks, other than Shaqiri, but they play in such a manner that makes them hard to beat. They have looked toothless at times in the campaign; Haris Seferovic and his replacement up front, Mario Gavranovic, are hardly the most prolific of strikers and neither seem to have the instinct to get into the right position. Most, if not all of the Swiss’ threat going forward comes from Shaqiri or Dzemaili, but Embolo’s presence on the left of midfield gave them something else in the final third.
Not only did the former Basel prodigy set up the goal, he also kept Cristian Gamboa, Costa Rica’s wingback, pinned back with his pace. Injuries have hampered his development since he moved to Schalke in the Bundesliga in 2016; the 21-year-old has only played 28 league games in his career there, but his quality is undoubted. Switzerland have faced an issue with balance at times during the World Cup, with only Shaqiri looking to break the lines. Even after the equaliser, though, Embolo, and left back Ricardo Rodriguez, who fired a shot over the bar, continued to probe, with the former drifting inside a lot more as the game came to a close. Sweden are next up for Switzerland on Tuesday, and Embolo has to be in line to start alongside Drmic, who replaced Gavranovic to volley what he thought was going to be the winner before Sommer’s own goal from Ruiz’s penalty.
Joel Campbell’s finishing costs him once again
Costa Rica found their feet both immediately before and directly after they restored parity; Colindres was a constant threat up against Lichtsteiner on the left wing, and the 34-year-old received a booking in the first half that will see him miss the Sweden game, while Ruiz was pressing high into the spaces vacated by Rodriguez as he got forward. It was Campbell who was their biggest disappointment, as he once again showed why he has had six loan spells away from the Emirates Stadium. His end product, whether out wide or up front as was tonight, has never been good enough, though he did lead an impressive counter-attack which ended in Borges forcing Sommer into another good save with 12 minutes remaining.
In truth, Switzerland took their foot off the gas once they knew the outcome of Serbia’s game with Brazil. Shaqiri was replaced by Michael Lang late on in order to preserve him for the knockout stages and, just like in the first half, they regained control of the tempo. Campbell deserves credit for his industry, but it wasn’t the first time his poor quality cost him and it won’t be the last.
Late VAR and penalty drama lights up poor second half
Ruiz, playing in his final World Cup, thought he had the chance to mark his last appearance with a goal from the penalty spot a minute or so before he actually did. The former Fulham man was adjudged to have been fouled by Rodriguez before VAR spotted he was offside and the decision was reversed. Moments later, though, another was given after Denis Zakaria brought down Campbell. Ruiz stepped up, only to hit the bar before the ball deflected in off Sommer’s back.
Switzerland could smile about it knowing they had made it through to the next round, while Costa Rica performed well as they bowed out after playing with the shackles off in their final game.