Third international victory in 2021: 3-2 over Finland

The Swiss national team will win its third match in the European Championship in 2021. After the two successes at the start of the World Cup qualifiers, the SFV selection in St. Gallen beat Finland, who participated in the European Championship 3: 2 (1: 2).

Substitute Robin Vargas with a full shot from 16 meters (57) and Sevirovic goalkeeper (86) turned the game in favor of Switzerland after the break. As in the World Cup qualifying matches against Bulgaria (3: 1) and Lithuania (1: 0), the Swiss advanced early against Finland, with Mario Gavranovi scoring in the 21st minute after preliminary work by Xherdan Shaqiri and Gabriel Sow 1-0. Intermission, the home team was late, unlike the match. The Finns took advantage of two defensive mistakes: in the absence of Teemu Pukki – the Finnish scorer who only appeared for a short time in the final stages – Joel Bojhanballo scored twice for the guests, who will celebrate their World Cup debut in June. . First, the Union Berlin striker hit his head (30), and ten minutes later he confidently converted a wrong penalty.

Immediately after the 1-1 draw, Javranovi only hit the outside post from close range, and Zuber missed twice from a promising position. Shortly before 2: 2, Denise Zakaria had already leveled. In all the dangerous Swiss actions before the break, Shaqiri had his feet set in the match. The Liverpool player was decisive in the 3-1 victory in Sofia (two assists) and his goal in the 1-0 victory over Lithuania. Against Finland, the captain’s armband appeared to give him extra wings in his 89th international match. He was happy to play and wasn’t too bad to take on defensive action. Being a corner kick, which resulted in a 1-1, was a defect. Shaqiri was the only player alongside Niko Elvedi who was already in the starting line-up against Lithuania at the start of the match, and they were replaced by Granit Shaka and Manuel Akanji during the break. After a good hour, Severovi also played, whose short appearance capped the 21st goal in the 73rd international match.

Voices after the match:

Robin Vargas: “Three wins in three games, that’s great! These are games in which you can show yourself. I’m happy that I scored a goal. The team welcomed me from the start, my team-mates always told me that I have to trust myself to do something. Yes, maybe I now have a standing.” A little different and more confident. “

Mario Gavranovic: “I’m happy with the way things went. We made some mistakes, but overall it was a positive game. Winning is the most important thing, but I’m also happy to score another goal for Switzerland. It can be difficult when so many players play together for the first time. But many of us have been with us for a long time, so we haven’t had any major problems. We’ve known the coach’s ideas for a long time, they were the same for many years before accepting my role. I have learned that I don’t do anything as I can’t influence anything. But what I can do. : Preparing myself so that I’m ready when needed. “

Matches before the finals

Before leaving for the European Championship Finals, Switzerland will take part in two tests, each in Kibbunpark in St. Gallen for logistical reasons. Vladimir Petkovic’s team is expected to face the USA on Sunday 30 May 2021 and Liechtenstein on Thursday 3 June 2021. The working hours will be communicated as soon as possible.

Telegram Switzerland – Finland 3: 2 (1: 2)

(SFV / Foto: Keystone-SDA)