(Reuters) – Substitute Haris Seferovic finished off a breathtaking box-to-box stoppage time counter-attack to hand Switzerland a thrilling 2-1 win over Ecuador in their World Cup Group E opener yesterday.
A brilliant block tackle by Valon Behrami in his own area instigated the break, which was allowed to continue by an excellent decision by Uzbekistan referee Ravshan Irmatov after the midfielder was body-checked.
The move continued with Ricardo Rodriguez crossing for Seferovic to finish in the 93rd minute, sending the Swiss fans into raptures and deflating the South Americans, who had played their part in another World Cup attack fest, albeit lacking the quality seen in earlier encounters.
“We could have gone 2-1 behind but we managed to make a very good save and then scored up the other end,” said man of the match Xherdan Shaqiri.
“After halftime we played a lot of simpler passes and we let the ball do the work and that created chances Ecuador coach Reinaldo Rueda lamented “a moment of naivety” that cost his side the game.
“We lost our organization at the end, we were somewhat betrayed by our emotion and this provoked the goal which took the draw away from us,” he told reporters.
The Swiss had bossed possession for long periods at the Brasilia national stadium, where many thousands of fans missed the kick-off as the negotiated the lengthy security queues, but fell behind in the 22nd minute after pre-match concerns about their soft centre proved true.
Ecuador striker Enner Valencia easily stepped away from Johan Djourou to meet Walter Ayovi’s free kick from the right with Swiss goalkeeper Diego Benaglio stuck on his line as the ball fizzed into his six yard box.
The Swiss struggled to break down the South Americans and were restricted to long shots for the remainder of the half with Swiss coach Ottmar Hitzfeld opting to introduce Admir Mehmedi at the break to help find a way through.
