Switzerland are through to the next round after a dominant 3-0 victory over Honduras. The win comes on the back of Xherdan Shaqiri who joins Thomas Muller by scoring the second hat-trick of the tournament. He owes a drink to teammate Josip Drmic, who assisted on two of the three goals.
The Swiss will now begin to prepare for their Round of 16 opponent Argentina, while Honduras will go home remaining winless at the World Cup after three unsuccessful entries.
The Goals
GOAL! Xherdan Shaqiri (SUI), 6 min. Oh, wow. From the top of the box, the Swiss attacking midfielder blasts a curling finish into the top left corner.
GOAL! Xherdan Shaqiri (SUI), 31 min. A nice ball from Drmic catches Shaqiri on the run. He moves the ball through the center of the pitch before side-footing it past a diving Noel Valladares.
GOAL! Xherdan Shaqiri (SUI), 70 min. Drmic gets around the Honduran right back, drawing the right center-back’s attention off Shaqiri, and onto him. He waits until the perfect moment before squaring to an open Shaqiri who puts it away past a helpless Valladares.
*****
Man of the Match - Xherdan Shaqiri
Even if we haven’t had as much of an opportunity as we might like to see it at the club level, we know Shaqiri has talent. It’s hardly surprising that he would spearhead Switzerland’s attack against Honduras. Even his three goals today seem more of a confirmation rather than a surprise.
What was incredible about Shaqiri’s performance on Wednesday was the amount of physical punishment he took from the Honduran defenders on his way to a hat-trick. While no observer would confuse the Swiss midfielder with being dainty, his level of skill is well served by incredible durability and toughness.
It’s just a matter of time until he emerges as one of the better attacking midfielders in the game.
The Controversy
Johan Djourou is such a liability. In the 61st minute, the Swiss defender fouled Jerry Palacios in the box. The only person not convinced it was a penalty was Argentine referee Nestor Pitana.
It was 2-0 at the time, and while it probably wouldn’t have affected who advanced onto the next round, it could’ve been a completely different match if the foul was called for what it was.
How did the Swiss win?
Shaqiri and Drmic worked so well together on Wednesday. In a central striker role, Drmic was wonderful in maintaining possession up top, moving over to the left, and then finding the oncoming Shaqiri — who played like a deep-lying center forward or a forward-leaning central attacking midfielder — up through the middle.
To keep Honduras honest, Ricardo Rodriguez and Stephan Lichtsteiner were both effective in attacking up the flanks where they seemed just as comfortable carrying the ball themselves as they were distributing to other attackers.
The Takeaway
Switzerland will go on to play Argentina in the Round of 16. While Honduras can leave Brazil with their head held high, comfortable in the knowledge that they were one of the toughest teams to play against in Brazil. Unfortunately, just not one of the most talented.
The 1,000 Words
Stray Thoughts
Shaqiri was absolutely hacked up by the Hondurans through the first half.
It’s next to impossible to believe that Rodriguez is 21-years-old. Not just because of his size, but because of his reliability. There’s no cracking him on the left side. In the 51st minute, he had a wonderful goal line clearance. Five minutes before that, he was leading an attack up the left flank.
Switzerland have looked brilliant at times this tournament, and also not very smart at all. A Round of 16 match against Argentina seems appropriate.
Shaqiri had some sublime moments of ball control that revealed not just his skill, but also his utter lack of respect for the Honduran markers.
