Marcus Rashford secures England win over Switzerland to halt slump
Soccer | September 12, 2018 15:02 ISTThe forward's close-range volley in the 54th minute gave England a 1-0 victory over Switzerland in a friendly on Tuesday.
The forward's close-range volley in the 54th minute gave England a 1-0 victory over Switzerland in a friendly on Tuesday.
Emil Forsberg scored a deflected goal in the 66th minute to give the Swedes a 1-0 victory over Switzerland a place in the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time in 24 years.
Switzerland are hoping to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 1954 while Sweden last appeared in the last eight in 1994, when they finished third.
Costa Rica ended their preliminary round engagements rock-bottom of the group with just one point to show for.
A win or even a draw will be enough for Switzerland to book themselves a ticket for the knockout stages.
The Swiss will advance to the round of 16 if they beat Costa Rica on Wednesday in Nizhny Novgorod whereas Brazil face Serbia in the last round of the group stages.
Serbia defeated Costa Rica 1-0 in their group stage opener and a win over the Swiss at the Samara Arena will nearly propel them to the second round.
Switzerland dominated the midfield for long spells against a Brazil team that had been keen to start with a win after their disastrous exit as host in 2014.
The Brazilians travel to Russia following a convincing 3-0 victory against Austria a week ago as Neymar banished any doubts about the injury.
Spain beat Portugal at the 2010 World Cup, and again in the semifinals of the 2012 European Championship, going on to win the tournament both times.
Switzerland fans have waited a long time to see their expectations exceeded at a major tournament. The team appears good enough to do it this time, but it will be difficult.
Spain was in control from the start but failed to capitalize on its chances and paid the prize after a second-half blunder by goalkeeper David de Gea.
Brazil, Switzerland, Costa Rica and Serbia are part of Group E of the World Cup.
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