Switzerland 2-2 Costa Rica: Switzerland set last 16 clash with Sweden after pulsating draw

Switzerland were far from their best against Costa Rica, but secured the point they needed to progress to the World Cup knockout stages.

Match Events

5' Sommer's double saves prove vital for Switzerland

Costa Rica are laying siege to the Swiss goal at the moment. First, a Campbell shot is just about parried away by Yann Sommer.

Then, a Celso Borges close-range header is blocked well by the diving Switzerland goalkeeper.

10' CROSSBAR! Colindres almost scores

Switzerland gifts the ball to Daniel Colindres who gets away from Shaqiri and curls an absolute beauty towards Sommer’s far post.

But the ball cannons off of the underside of the crossbar and out – with the ball never crossing the line. Costa Rica have started the match on absolute fire!

31' GOAL! Switzerland 1-0 Costa Rica (Dzemaili)

Against the run of play, Switzerland take the lead! Stephan Lichtsteiner gets free on the right-hand side and puts a delightful cross into the penalty area for Breel Embolo.

Marked tightly, Embolo decides to nod the ball towards Dzemaili who is waiting in front of the net and then smashes his volley into the roof of the goal.

56' GOAL! Switzerland 1-1 Costa Rica (Waston)

Kendall Waston nods in the equaliser from a corner-kick after Manuel Akanji failed to mark his man properly.

Joel Campbell's wonderfully delivered corner-kick perfectly set Kendall Waston up for the goal. As a result, Campbell is awarded the assist. 

77' OFF THE POST! Drmic almost scores

88' GOAL! Switzerland 2-1 Costa Rica (Drmic)

Dzemaili nutmegs a Costa Rica midfielder and spreads the ball out to the right-hand side for Denis Zakaria. Zakaria looks up and fires in a low cross for Drmic who smashes his first-time effort past Navas and into the goal!

Zakaria looks up and fires in a low cross for Drmic who smashes his first-time effort past Navas and into the goal!

93' SWITZERLAND 2-2 COSTA RICA! Ruiz misses penalty but it hits Sommer in the back which leads to a OG!

PENALTY TO COSTA RICA! Denis Zakaria is deemed to have pushed Joel Campbell in the penalty area, and Los Ticos do eventually get their penalty! It’s Bryan Ruiz to strike it…

A slightly odd penalty as the shot from Bryan Ruiz strikes the underside of the crossbar before hitting Yann Sommer’s back and nesting into the back of the Switzerland goal!

Match Report

Switzerland booked their spot in the last 16 of the World Cup courtesy of a 2-2 draw with Costa Rica in Nizhny Novgorod on Wednesday.

Brazil's win over Serbia in the night's other Group E game means that Vladimir Petkovic's side finish second in the pool and will take on Sweden in St Petersburg on Tuesday.

Switzerland – whose last-gasp win over Serbia in their second game set them up for progression to the knockout stages – were second best for large periods against their already eliminated opponents, but did take the lead just after the half-hour mark.

Blerim Dzemaili took advantage of generous marking to power home from close range before Kendall Waston pulled Costa Rica level shortly after the interval.

Substitute Josip Drmic thought he had secured all three points for Switzerland with a cool 88th-minute finish before Bryan Ruiz's penalty cannoned off Yann Sommer for an unfortunate own goal to ensure a share of the spoils. 

Switzerland's attentions now turn to their crunch clash with Janne Andersson's side, while Costa Rica are left to reflect on a campaign that fell well short of their magical run to the quarter-finals in 2014.

Line-ups

Switzerland XI: Sommer (GK); Rodriguez, Akanji, Schar, Lichtsteiner (C); Embolo, Xhaka, Dzemaili, Behrami Shaqiri; Gavranovic.

Subs: Mvogo (GK), Burki (GK), Moubandje, Elvedi, Lang, Freuler, Seferovic, Zuber, Fernandes, Zakaria, Drmic, Djourou.

Costa Rica XI: Navas (GK); Oviedo, Waston, Gonzalez, Acosta, Gamboa; Ruiz (C), Guzman, Borges, Colindres; Campbell.

Subs: Pemberton (GK), Moreira (GK), Smith, Duarte, Bolanos, Venegas, Wallace, Azofeifa, Calvo, Tejeda, Urena, Gutierrez.