Switzerland rode Xherdan Shaqiri’s hat-trick to get past the challenge of Honduras and find them in the round of 16 in the ongoing edition of the World Cup. Honduras however failed to register even a point as they lost their third consecutive match in the tournament.
Switzerland needed at least a win to stay in the hunt for a place in the next round and also await the result of the France-Ecuador match for qualification. They began the match in the perfect fashion that they would have wanted to. Shaqiri gave them the lead as early as in the 4th minute when the curling ball beat the goalkeeper and found the back of the net. Switzerland kept on putting on the pressure on Honduras even after taking the lead. It paid off in the 31st minute when Shaqiri scored the second on the night. At half time it was 2-0 and the Swiss could believe that they have got a chance-a big chance.
With the start of the second half Honduras tried to make a comeback and they almost reduced the margin in the 52nd minute but for the goalline save from defender Rodriguez after the goalie was beaten by a tap-in from Bengston. Honduras came close but could not find the finish. Switzerland at the other half of the field made it 3-0 in the 71st minute and Shaqiri was the man again. He completed his hat-trick and made sure that the Swiss had an advantage on goal difference over the Ecuadorians who were at the same time locked at 0-0 in the other match.
At the end of the 90 minutes the Swiss players burst into sheer jubilation as they were through to the next round as the France-Ecuador finished in a stalemate. Switzerland is now up against the 2-time world champion Argentina in their first match in the knock-out. It will be tougher for the Swiss as they will now have to play against the wizard-Lionel Messi. Surely the manager will be having some sleepless nights before the match. But before that he could go for sleep as it was the night to celebrate.
Tags: FIFA world cup 2014 Xherdan Shaqiri
