A draw that serves Switzerland more than Scotland. In Cologne Yacin’s national team drew against Clarke’s men and, with four points in the group, they have more than a chance of reaching the round of 16.
The choices of technicians
Scotland on the pitch with Adams as the lone striker while McGinn and McTominay will act on the wings. Gilmour and McGregor are the midfielders while in front of Gunn there will be a five-man line with Hendry, Hanley and Tierney in the middle and Ralston on the right and Robertson on the left. Switzerland responds with Sommer between the posts and a three-man rearguard made up of Schar, Akanji and Rodriguez. In the midfield there is room for Xhaka and Freuler while Widmer and Shaqiri are the wingers. Ndoye plays in attack with Aebischer and Vargas acting in the attacking midfield.
Tie at halftime
Back and forth in the first 25 minutes with Scotland first taking the lead with a counterattack concluded by McTominay with a deflection from Schar into his own goal. The Swiss respond with Shaqiri, able to take advantage of a back pass from Ralston and kick with his left foot first intention, putting it behind Gunn. Yacin’s national team is galvanized by the equalizer and Widmer, with a powerful shot from distance, almost misses the mark to overtake. Shortly after the half hour mark, Bologna striker Ndoye shoots diagonally from an excellent position but Gunn saves everything with a great reflex and deflects it for a corner. A few moments later Ndoye scored the goal but was caught in an irregular position on the starting pass.
Balance but zero goals
The second half opens with a golden opportunity for Switzerland: magic from Ndoye who turns in the penalty area and shoots with first intention but Gunn deflects the ball into a corner kick with his calling hand. Yacin’s national team tries again with Vargas but his shot ends up wide. In the 22nd minute Scotland took the lead again with a free kick from Hanley: following a free kick from Robertson, the defender dived from an excellent position and hit the post. On the rebound, a melee starts which is saved by Sommer with his foot. With ten to go Embolo runs deep and beats Gunn with a precise lob but the linesman raises his flag with the referee disallowing it for offside. Emotions at the end: first Amdouni heads the ball just wide. On the reversal in front the heart of Scotland brings McToninay into the area, anticipated at the last moment by Akanji. McGregor then puts it high.
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