Five-star Swiss come back to floor Belgium

Switzerland were two goals down in 17 minutes but remarkably hit back to beat Belgium 5-2 last night and secure a place in the semifinals of the Nations League.

The Swiss needed to win by two goals to top Group A2 and their dreams looked dashed when Thorgan Hazard – brother of Eden – scored twice.

Belgium, who finished third at the World Cup, seemed home and hosed in the battle to win the section but Switzerland had other ideas. Ricardo Rodriguez pulled one back from the penalty spot, Haris Seferovic scored a double, and then he completed his hat-trick after Nico Elvedi had headed in their fourth goal.

Portugal drew 0-0 with Italy on Saturday to pick up the point they needed to qualify for the last four. The Portuguese, with Cristiano Ronaldo still taking a break from international football, will host the semi-finals, which also includes England.

The Netherlands only need a point in Germany tonight to complete the line-up, otherwise France will progress.

Elsewhere over the weekend, Hibernian trio Martin Boyle, Jamie Maclaren and Mark Milligan featured in Australia’s 1-1 friendly draw with South Korea. Milligan captained the Socceroos in Brisbane, while Scottish-born Boyle was making his debut. Ui-jo Hwang opened the scoring for the Koreans but Massimo Luongo scored a last-minute equaliser.

Tonight, Martin O’neill’s Republic of Ireland complete their Nations League Group B4 campaign in Denmark. It’s a dead rubber, with the Danes havingwonthesectionandthe already-relegated Irish looking for their first win.