Switzerland in semis with stunning win over Belgium
LUCERNE,SWITZERLAND:HARIS Seferovic scored a hat-trick as Switzerland recovered from conceding two early goals to beat World Cup semi-finalists Belgium 5-2 on Sunday and qualify for the last four of the UEFA Nations League in remarkable fashion.
Belgium, who suffered only their second competitive defeat since Euro 2016, threatened to overwhelm Switzerland when Thorgan Hazard scored twice in the first 17 minutes, the first from an awful mistake by Nico Elvedi in the second minute.
But the Swiss hit back to lead 3-2 at halftime with a penalty from Ricardo Rodriguez and a brace from Seferovic before Elvedi atoned for his mistake by heading them further in front in the 62nd minute and then Seferovic added a fifth.
The two sides finished level at the top of Group Two in League A — the top tier — with nine points and the Swiss qualified on having the better head-to-head record after Belgium’s 2-1 win in Brussels.
“I’m very proud of these young players,” said Switzerland coach Vladimir Petkovic. “After the second goal, we had to stay calm and not concede a third goal and try to get slowly back.”
“We suddenly started to lose duels and gave away a stupid penalty foul. And suddenly the Swiss got hope for more,” said Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
“The feeling went into our team, that this cannot go wrong. But this is a high-level competitive match and hopefully not reaching the final four will teach us a lesson for the future.”