World Cup 2018: 5 talking points as Switzerland defeat Serbia

#2 Serbia's qualification hopes hang in the balance

Serbia - hopes are slim

Serbia were en route to picking up a guaranteed point on Friday night before Switzerland scored the winner to leave their chances of qualification to the next round in tatters.

The White Eagles had some glorious opportunities to extend their lead in the first half itself and failed to capitalize on the momentum.

However, missed opportunities reflected later as a one-goal deficit allowed Switzerland to remain in the game and paved the way for a second-half comeback. The Serbians had a poor second period of the game as they failed to hold possession of the ball for long spells and the chances also started decreasing.

Dusan Tadic and Aleksander Mitrovic were the only ones who seemed to carry any real threat at goal as a lack of support from fellow attackers let the team down. The 2-1 loss drops Serbia to third place in Group E, one point adrift of leaders Brazil and second-placed Switzerland.

Mladen Krstajic's men face a daunting challenge from Brazil in their final group match with only a win guaranteeing them progress to the Round of 16. A draw will make it complicated for Serbia since they will have to then rely upon the already eliminated Costa Rica to pull off a miracle against the Swiss.

1 - Switzerland’s 2-1 victory over Serbia is the first game at the 2018 World Cup to see a side win from a losing position. Turnaround.#SRBSUI #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/nHEorSGURF

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 22, 2018