Switzerland seal place in World Cup last 16 after draw with Costa Rica

After a week in which not much football has been discussed, Switzerland were probably just grateful to get this game out of the way without any disasters. Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri’s potential suspensions for their, shall we say, “politically spicy” celebrations against Serbia dominated the pre-match debate, and while the pair were ultimately allowed to play, for long spells they looked like a team who had spent the build-up with unwanted distractions.

Serbia’s defeat by Brazil meant Switzerland could have lost against Costa Rica and still qualified but while they drew this game, it was not a performance that will have Sweden, their second-round opponents, quivering in fear. They will also have to face Sweden without two key defenders: Fabian Schar and Stephan Lichtsteiner are suspended having picked up their second bookings of the tournament.

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from Football | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2KsxIu9