Swiss hold on to beat Albania

PARIS: Euro 2016 debutants Albania were given a tough lesson in the realities of big tournaments in their opening match defeat to Switzerland yesterday.

A silly goalkeeping mistake, a first-half sending off and failure to take simple chances cost them the chance to take at least a point from a match in which they more than held their own, but eventually lost 1-0.

If only Giovanni De Biasi’s team had got the basics right, they could have added to the problems for Switzerland and given their own vociferous fans even more to shout about.

Keeping the Swiss out for as long as possible was clearly going to be key to their success, but goalkeeper Etrit Berisha, who otherwise had an excellent match, misjudged a Swiss corner in the fifth minute and allowed Fabian Schaer to head home the winner. – Reuters