Seferovic stars, Swiss stun Belgium to reach semis

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Spain beat Bosnia after NL heartache

PARIS, Nov 19, (AFP): Haris Seferovic starred with a hat trick as Switzerland staged a sensational comeback to thrash Belgium 5-2 in Lucerne on Sunday and qualify for the Nations League finals in dramatic fashion.

Thorgan Hazard’s early double left Switzerland needing to win by two goals to qualify from Group A2 but the hosts quickly fought back, with Ricardo Rodriguez’s penalty and Seferovic’s first two goals seeing them into a 3-2 half-time lead.

Nico Elvedi nodded home a Xherdan Shaqiri cross in the 62nd minute, and Vladimir Petkovic’s men sealed a stunning win when Seferovic completed his treble late on.

“I want to congratulate each player, there was a big mental reaction, the players never gave up, they always believed,” said Swiss coach Petkovic. “They played with will, intelligence and with their heads.”

After a thrilling match that continued a trend of goal-filled encounters in the inaugural edition of the Nations League, Switzerland will play at the finals in June next year, alongside European champions Portugal and England, with the final spot going to either France or The Netherlands on Monday.

Roberto Martinez’s men saw their six-match unbeaten run since reaching the World Cup semifinals brought to an shuddering halt.

“We forgot to defend well, we gave Switzerland the opportunity to get back in the game,” said Spanish coach Martinez.

“We had a lot of excitement, we really wanted to finish top of the group. The disappointment will make us more focused when the (Euro 2020) qualification starts.”

Thorgan Hazard set the tone for the game in only the second minute as dreadful defending by Swiss centre-back Elvedi allowed him to slot home.

The 25-year-old winger continued his excellent recent form with a magnificent individual strike in the 17th minute, carrying the ball forwards at pace before hammering a low drive into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

The Borussia Moenchengladbach man has now scored 12 goals for club and country this season.

That left the hosts with a mountain to climb, but Rodriguez got them on the scoresheet in the 26th minute from the spot after Nacer Chadli fouled Kevin Mbabu.

Liverpool forward Shaqiri was starting to have a bigger impact on the game and he headed the ball across goal for Seferovic to tap in his first just after the half-hour mark to keep the game alive.

Benfica striker Seferovic sent the crowd in Lucerne into raptures with a wonderful curling finish shortly before half-time as a famous fightback beckoned.

Switzerland continued to press at the start of the second period, with Shaqiri bending a free-kick narrowly over the crossbar.

Shaqiri, who has been revitalized since joining Liverpool from Stoke in the close season, was the architect of the all-important fourth goal, creating space for a whipped cross which only needed a glancing touch from Elvedi.

Belgium still only needed one goal to snatch top spot in the group, but Seferovic put that beyond reach of the away side by twisting to head home in the 84th minute.

There was still time for Switzerland goalkeeper Yann Sommer to be forced into saves by Eden Hazard and Belgian substitute Michy Batshuayi, but the hosts held on and almost scored a sixth when Denis Zakaria was denied at point-blank range by Thibaut Courtois.

Meanwhile, Spain responded to their Nations League disappointment by beating Bosnia 1-0 but an unconvincing victory will have done little to lift the mood.

Luis Enrique’s side needed 21-year-old debutant Brais Mendez, on as a substitute, to score the only goal of a scrappy game at Estadio Gran Canaria, in which neither side would have been unfairly represented by a stalemate.

Spain already knew their hopes of progressing to the Nations League finals were over after England snatched top spot in Group 4 following a last-gasp win at Wembley over Croatia.

A thrilling conclusion, which would have sent Spain through had Croatia held on for a point, was a feather in the cap for the inaugural tournament and came in stark contrast to this rather underwhelming friendly a few hours later.

“Bad luck and mistakes we made meant we didn’t make the finals,” Luis Enrique said. “I would have liked a draw (between England and Croatia) but I’m focused on qualification for the European Championship and I think the team looks good.”

A narrow win over Bosnia came with a rotated and youthful line-up, in which only Isco and Dani Ceballos survived from Thursday’s defeat by Croatia in Zagreb.

Harry Kane’s late winner against Croatia had the Spanish press swooning for a striker of his calibre and another erratic performance from Alvaro Morata hardly promoted the Chelsea striker’s cause.

“It is always difficult against a team that sits back. It is very nice for a coach to see there is a future,” added Luis Enrique.

Sergio Ramos, out of form this season, was injured and unavailable, opening the door to Real Sociedad’s Diego Llorente and Espanyol’s Mario Hermoso to stake their claim as the absent captain’s regular partner. Neither made a misstep but they were also rarely tested.

Luis Enrique chose not to select Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea for the first time, with Chelsea’s Kepa Arrizabalaga coming in, while Isco was named captain.

Bosnia, with promotion from League B secured in the Nations League, came in unbeaten in nine matches under Robert Prosinecki but were without their injured playmaker Miralem Pjanic.

Spain’s master playmaker David Silva was on the pitch with his son before kick-off as the midfielder, who retired from international football in the summer, was presented with a shirt to honour his 125 caps.

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