Switzerland 3-3 Denmark
At 3-0 up with six minutes to go, Vladimir Petkovic’s Switzerland were about to go to the top of Euro 2020 qualifying Group D with a comfortable win over Denmark … but then it all fell apart!
The hosts arrived in Basel on the back of an impressive victory in Georgia, but they’ll be gutted that they failed to make it two wins in two. They were cruising when Breel Embolo made it 3-0 on 75 minutes.
But from the moment Mathias Jorgensen headed what seemed like a mere consolation goal, the Swiss went to pieces. They eventually cracked under the pressure as Henrik Dalsgaard sent the visiting fans wild with a stoppage-time equalizer.
The Euro 2020 betting odds back these two teams to top Group D, while neither is expected to get to the last eight of the competition in 2020. On this showing, I can’t see much to disagree with there.
Highlights of the game
Denmark boss Age Hareide said in the run-up to this game that the pressure was on their hosts. The Swiss were also hit by the news that Fabian Schar was to miss out with a head injury.
But while Denmark made the brighter start, it was Switzerland who came closest to an early goal. Granit Xhaka crossed to Steven Zuber at the far post but his header went wide.
The goal came soon, though. As the ball was swung into the Denmark penalty area, it appeared to bounce off the arm of Albian Ajeti. When it landed at Remo Freuler’s feet, he finished well with a low drive to Kasper Schmeichel’s left.
The Denmark defence howled their complaints, but they went unheard as Freuler gleefully celebrated his first international goal.
There was a good deal of quality on show, which was expected in a match between two of the ten best teams in the world. But despite Hareide’s pre-match mind games, it was mostly coming from the Swiss.
With Xhaka controlling the midfield, they closed out the first half with a lead. It had been comfortable for the hosts after Denmark’s lively first few minutes. Denmark started the second half with more ambition, though, as Christian Eriksen tried to spark a comeback.
The visitors thought they had drawn level when Yussuf Poulsen went through on goal, slid the ball under Yann Sommer and into the net. But the RB Leipzig forward’s joy was turned to despair when the linesman’s flag went up. It was mighty close.
Martin Braithwaite had been quiet in the first half, but he let fly with a shot just before the hour which flew narrowly over. Eriksen then had a chance with a free kick, but it couldn’t clear the defensive wall.
Just as it seemed that the Danes were getting back into the game, they were hit by a thunderbolt. Switzerland worked the ball upfield, Zuber retained it well and rolled the ball to Xhaka, who hit a rocket past Schmeichel from some 22 yards out.
The visitors had been so much better in the second half but couldn’t do anything about that.
With 20 minutes left, Sommer was called on to make a strong save at his near post after Eriksen hit a sweet volley.
The game looked to be pretty much over on 76 minutes when the Denmark keeper completely hashed his clearance, allowing Breel Embolo to squeeze the ball home.
Denmark finally grabbed a goal back on 84 minutes. Eriksen managed to swing a dangerous ball into the Swiss box and Mathias Jorgensen headed home.
Three minutes later, it was 3-2. The Danes broke in numbers, Poulsen found space on the right and squared for Christian Gytkjaer to slide the ball home.
Denmark threw the kitchen sink at the Swiss in search of an equalizer. Sommer made a save from a fierce Eriksen free kick, and then saved brilliantly at the death when Gytkjaer headed towards the bottom corner. He thought that was it. We all did.
But in the third minute of injury time, Henrik Dalsgaard rose high to beat Sommer to the ball and nodded it into the net.
Breathless!
Key statistics
The pre-match odds at SBOBET offered a draw at 3.25 but we expected 1-1, not 3-3!
The first half was a cagey affair as expected, with the only shot on target ending up in Denmark’s net. And then the second half exploded into life.
Amazingly, Denmark are now on a seven-match unbeaten run and are also three games unbeaten against the Swiss.
But the hosts still haven’t lost a competitive match in Basel since a 2014 defeat to England in Petkovic’s first game in charge. That won’t be much consolation, though.
What’s next?
Switzerland qualified for the UEFA Nations League semi-finals with a thumping 5-2 win over FIFA’s top-ranked team, Belgium. And their next game is a semi-final clash with Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal.
With their first game under their belts, the Danes now have two home qualifiers in June: first to the Republic of Ireland and then Georgia. They will fancy at least four points from those two games as they aim to make their mark on this group.
Well that was a cracker and there’s plenty of action to come, and you can get all the latest Euro 2020 updates right here at SBOBET.
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