Switzerland are through to the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 after beating France, with Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka playing a key role.
Few gave Switzerland a chance as they took on France in Bucharest, but they did take the lead through Haris Seferovic.
Karim Benzema hit a quickfire double to put France in front after Ricardo Rodriguez failed from the penalty spot, and Paul Pogba seemed to have wrapped it up.
Seferovic hauled Switzerland back into the game inside the last 10 minutes, and Mario Gavranovic struck a last-gasp equaliser for the Swiss.
The game went all the way to penalties, and after nine successful spot kicks, Kylian Mbappe had to score to keep France in the game and in the tournament – but his shot was saved by Yann Sommer, sending Switzerland through.
Vladimir Petkovic has now teed up a quarter-final clash against Spain, and will be hoping to spring another shock.
One of the key men in Switzerland’s win was midfielder Xhaka, who notched an assist for Gavranovic’s key goal late in the day.
Xhaka recorded three key passes, one shot, two aerials won, two tackles, three interceptions and one clearance, turning in a fine performance.
The display didn’t go unnoticed in England, with Arsenal tweeting that their midfielder was ‘colossal’ as they encapsulated the brilliance of his performance in just one word.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
