Euro 2020 Match 13: Croatia and Switzerland Draw Second Match

The following article provides an oversight for matches and tournaments taking place in 2020.

Euro 2020 Match 13: Croatia v Switzerland

Croatia and Switzerland Draw Second Match

June 18, 2020

Croatia 1 Switzerland 1

 

Croatia’s quick reply ensured they gained a point against Switzerland in their second group game.

 

Croatia, with their second match in Switzerland, took on the home side in the hopes of gaining the first three points of the group and take a crucial lead going into the final Match Day.

 

The two sides struggled to put long periods of play together, before Switzerland had a chance for the first goal, only for Edimilson Fernandes to be deemed offside.

 

Down Croatia’s end, Tin Jedvaj rose above the rest from a corner, but his header hit the crossbar.

 

In the next passage of play, Bruno Petković should have scored, with a through ball finding him unmarked. However, the ball speed was too much for him, and by the time he reached the ball, the Swiss goalkeeper, Yann Sommer, had closed the angle. Petković rushed the shot and never looked like scoring.

 

Instead, the hosts scored via Admir Mehmedi in the 23rd minute, after Denis Zakaria outplayed the two men on the edge of the box near the left wing. He brought the ball down with his chest before side-stepping the two defenders. The pass to Mehmedi was on point, as the striker left-footed the ball into the right-hand side of the goal.

 

However, Croatia replied two minutes later after it looked like they were going to play down the right wing. Domagoj Vida decided to cut back inboard, and then Ivan Perišić was found with a long pass. The left winger made no mistake.

 

Perišić then won a corner header, only the tight angle prevented his second goal. Down the Swiss end, steely Croatian defence was needed after a free kick saw multiple attempts on goal in the same passage of play, only for each of them to be blocked. Then, Remo Freuler was found in a one-on-one contest with Simon Sluga, where the goalkeeper was able to punch the ball away from the Swiss midfielder as he slid to cover any shot.

 

From that moment, though, both sides went into defensive mode, and neither side purchased another shot on target. In the end, both sides secured their second point, and the fear of being eliminated soon came to fruition.