With a minimal victory against Wales, England came closer to qualifying for the European Championship, and the match, which was much more important for the mood in Montenegro before the last two games in the group, did not bring anything positive - Switzerland defeated Bulgaria 3:1 in Basel and came to three points. minus compared to the "brave falcons".
And everything started as one could only wish at "St. Jakob", because the Bulgarians took the lead after nine minutes of the game - Partizan stopper Ivan Ivanov scored after a corner.
Although the Bulgarians did not excel either, far from it, Switzerland's game after the conceded goal came down to the performance of only one football player. However, against the broken army of Lotar Mateus, even that was enough - Xherdan Shaqiri worked wonders, and with a hat-trick he ensured that the Swiss kept their chances for the barrage realistic.
"This is my first hat-trick! We were better from the beginning, and then we conceded a goal. We are on the right track, if we continue like this I am sure of success," Šaćiri said.
The Basel striker, who was born in Gnjilan, first equalized in stoppage time in the first half, and then finished the job - each of his three goals was a masterpiece, Bulgaria's goalkeeper Mihailov had no chance...
The Swiss will play their next match against Wales in Cardiff on October 7, on the same day Montenegro will meet England. However, it is already clear that in the last round, in the match between Switzerland and Montenegro, everything will be decided about the passengers in the play-off.
Just a few days after the great victory in Sofia, the English failed, but the Welsh were probably so fascinated by "Wembley" that they were not even allowed to deprive Albion of a point. In the end, Ashley Young's goal in the 35th minute, assisted by Stuart Downing, was enough for Fabio Capello's team.
"I am partly satisfied, although we suffered in the continuation and could have even conceded a goal. The opponent was dangerous, but there comes a time when the result is more important to you than other things," said Capello.
Bonus video:
