Switzerland hit back with a thunderous strike by Granit Xhaka and a last-minute breakaway goal by Xherdan Shaqiri to claim a famous 2-1 win over Serbia on Friday in a swashbuckling World Cup Group E match tinged with Balkan rivalry.
The Swiss looked in danger of being over-run when Serbia went ahead with an Aleksandar Mitrovic header after five minutes to the delight of their fervent supporters at the Kaliningrad stadium.
Xhaka silenced the Serbian contingent in the 52nd minute, however, when he rifled home a loose ball in spectacular style from 25 metres before Shaqiri ran onto a through ball and finished with aplomb to win the game at the death.
Xhaka and Shaqiri are among several members of the Swiss squad who are of Kosovar heritage, which added an extra dimension to the match.
A revamped Nigeria beat Iceland 2-0 and revived their hopes of advancing in the World Cup in Russia on Friday with, striker Ahmed Musa celebrating his return to the team with two fine goals.
The defeat for Iceland, appearing in their first World Cup tournament, does not kill off their dreams just yet, while struggling Argentina could also pull off a miraculous escape and make it to the knockout rounds.
But Friday’s win, in the heat of southern Russia, leaves Nigeria in control of their destiny when they meet Argentina in their final game of Group D on Tuesday.
Late strikes by Philippe Coutinho and Neymar gave Brazil their first win of the World Cup in thrilling fashion against Costa Rica in St. Petersburg on Friday and sent the Central Americans crashing out of the tournament.
The clock had ticked past 90 minutes, and the five-times champions looked to be edging to a second disappointing draw, when Marcelo floated the ball in from the left and substitute Roberto Firmino headed across to Gabriel Jesus.
Jesus’s first touch took the ball away from the defender and into the path of Coutinho who raced in to poke past goalkeeper Keylor Navas from six metres out for his second goal of the tournament.