Euro 2020: Switzerland beat Turkey to keep qualification hopes alive
Switzerland secured their first victory at Euro 2020 with a 3-1 win over Turkey to keep their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages alive.
A double strike from Xherdan Shaqiri and another from Haris Seferovic bagged crucial three points for the Swiss to help them secure third place in Group A. Vladimir Petkovic's men will now wait to see if they can secure a berth in the knockout stages of the competition as one of the four best third-place finishers.
Turkey, meanwhile, ended their Euro 2020 journey with another woeful defeat against Switzerland to finish fourth in Group A. Senol Gunes' men were labeled the 'dark horses' of Euro 2020 but failed to live up to the hype and head home without even mustering a single point in the competition.
Xherdan Shaqiri's double keep Switzerland's Euro 2020 dream alive
Turkey started the game at a great pace and tried to take the match to Switzerland from the get-go. But they conceded early against the run of play as Haris Seferovic scored from Switzerland's first effort on goal. The Swiss striker received the ball from Steven Zuber inside the box before drilling it past Ugurcan Cakir into the bottom right corner. The visitors doubled their lead near the half hour mark through a wonderful strike from Xherdan Shaqiri. The Liverpool midfielder curled the ball into the top corner after receiving it from Zuber at the edge of the penalty area.
Turkey worked hard to get back into the game in the first-half but couldn't get past Yann Sommer in between the sticks for the Swiss.They continued to dominate proceedings in the second-half and finally managed to pull one back courtesy of a sensational strike by Irfan Kahveci from outside the box. Just when it appeared as if they might be able to get something out of the game, Xherdan Shaqiri restored Switzerland's two-goal advantage with a powerful strike past Cakir. Granit Xhaka nearly scored the fourth for the visitors as he struck the post from a free-kick from just outside the box. The Swiss side tried to add to their goal tally in hopes of improving their goal-difference and finishing second in the table, but to no avail.
While it's the end of the Euro 2020 journey for Turkey, all is not lost for Switzerland as they wait to see whether they will be given a ticket to the next round of the competition.
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