Mehmedi's smash not enough for Swiss progression in Romania draw

Switzerland's opportunity to be the first team to qualify for Euro 2016's knockout stage fell short in a 1-1 draw with Romania on Wednesday.

Bogdan Stancu converted his second penalty of the tournament after Stephan Lichtsteiner had a handful of Alexandru Chipciu's shirt, but Admir Mehmedi's second-half thunderbolt ensured honours were even in the Group A meeting at the Parc des Princes.

The point means Switzerland missed out on progression into the Round of 16, and although it has a three-point cushion in second place it can be caught with a loss against France on Sunday and a two-goal win for Romania over Albania.

Wastefulness from Switzerland in particular made for a first period that wasn't particularly fluid but entertaining, with Haris Seferovic the most culpable for missing a host of gilt-edged chances. When Stephan Lichtsteiner's shirt tug gifted Stancu's spot kick, it was against the run of play.

The Romanians found a new lease of life after the penalty, however, it should've had more than a one-goal advantage against an abating Swiss team. Vladimir Petkovic's side needed some pace in the lineup, and the red half of the stadium was calling for teenage menace Breel Embolo.

It was when Embolo was readying for his introduction that Switzerland drew level. Mehmedi's ferocious 57th-minute wallop left Ciprian Tatarusanu helplessly sprawling, although you suspect if he got anything in front of the ball he would've ended up in the net too. With the goal, Bayer Leverkusen's Mehmedi became the first Swiss to score at both a European Championship and World Cup.

The Neti then exerted some sustained pressure on Romania, continually trying to unleash Embolo, who came on after 64 minutes, or trying to coax Xherdan Shaqiri into producing some magic. Granit Xhaka was again superb in the middile of the park, but it wasn't to be for the new Arsenal signing and his teammates as Switzerland failed to carve out a clear goalscoring chance.

A draw was a fair reflection of proceedings on the final whistle, but one that both teams should feel slight aggrieved about.