After a draw with Canada in a tough and tight game, our team entered the duel with Switzerland with the desire to achieve another positive result that would bring us even closer to the round of 16 of the World Cup, and our opponent, given the fact that he drew with Qatar in the first round, was under more pressure.
Coach Sergej Barbarez made three changes in the starting line-up compared to the duel with Canada, and instead of Bašić, Bajraktarević and Lukić, Šunjić, Alajbegović and Džeko were among the starters, so we played in our standard 4-4-2 formation, consisting of: Vasilj, Dedić, Katic, Muharemović, Kolašinac, Šunjić, Tahirović, Alajbegović, Memic, Demirović and Džeko.
After seven or eight minutes of initial testing, Switzerland starts to increase the intensity with three connected corners, after which our team practically entered the lap of goalkeeper Vasilje, and we “lived” on the edge. Ndoye hit the outer part of the net, then Katic intervened at the last minute, and several times the better pass of the Swiss was missed to enter checkmate positions.
The cooling-off break came at the right time, although before that Amar Memic made an excellent breakthrough on the right side, but there was no adequate cross. After the break, our team finally got rid of the Swiss pressure and had several dangerous exits in our opponent’s half.
In the 32nd minute, Alajbegović from the first passes to Džeko, who crosses to the other side, and in a great position, Tahirović misses the ball and we fail to shoot. In the 41st minute, Alajbegović lost to Džeko after winning the ball by pressing, but Džeko’s shot was blocked. In the 44th minute, our national team played another good attack, but in the end, Kolašinac’s attempt after a good ball by Demirović was thrown into the corner.
Switzerland opened the second part of the match similarly to the first, with Dan Ndoye’s shot, and later he tried again, but there was no danger for our goal, at least not too much. However, our team did not get too close to Vasilje, unlike in the first half, when we played really low.
The Swiss had another chance after a corner, Embol’s shot was brilliantly saved by Vasilj, and then Barbarez introduced Bajraktarević and Bašić instead of Tahirović and Džeka, and our game became much more fluid.
From such a game, we worried the Swiss several times, and in the 65th minute, Dedić shot brilliantly, but Kobel saves. After that, there was a hydration break, after which Murat Yakin made several changes that brought him a result.
The game was played in the 74th minute when reserve player Vargas crossed, Amar Memic headed but directly to the second Manzambi reserve player, who caught a volley in the box and scored for 1:0.
Switzerland’s goal paralyzed our team, we didn’t look good after it, and in the 81st minute everything fell apart. Embolo headed towards our goal, Muharemović slipped in late as the last player in the defense and received a straight red card.
Already in the 84th minute, the Swiss scored the second goal through Vargas and put our team in a very awkward position. Our defense completely broke, and Vargas didn’t have a hard time defeating Vasilj.
Until the end of the match, the Swiss controlled the events, and in the 90th minute, Manzambi scored his second goal for 3:0 and resolved all doubts. It remains clear, against Qatar, we decide our fate completely.
Until the end of the match, real madness. First, Mahmić scored for 3:1 after a corner kick, and then the Swiss won a penalty, which Xhaka converted for the final 4:1.
