Switzerland and Qatar finished 1:1 in the second match of Group B of the World Cup, and after this result, all four teams in the group have 1 point each.
The co-organizers from Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina also finished 1:1, which sends the four teams into the second round with equal assets.
The Swiss team had 25 shots in the match against only 7 for the Qatar team, but the misses - especially before the break - deprived them of a comfortable lead. Qatar, on the other hand, won a point for the first time in its second appearance at the World Cup. Breel Embolo opened the scoring for Switzerland from a penalty kick early in the match, and in added time, Qatar captain Boualem Khouhy with His 22nd goal for the country brought the precious point.
The Swiss team started the match actively, but in the 3rd minute they could have scored a goal after Manuel Akanji acted carelessly and allowed Edmilson Junior to go against goalkeeper Gregor Kobel. However, the goalkeeper managed to stop the ball. Two good chances followed for Dan Ndoy, with the second in the 10th minute shooting over the top bar from five meters.
But in the 16th minute the European team opened the scoring from a penalty won by Remo Freuler, who was brought down by goalkeeper Mahmoud Abounada. Freuler received the ball from Breel Embolo, and Embolo himself from the 11 meters did not leave the goalkeeper any chance and gave his team the lead.
Switzerland could have doubled the score first in the 21st minute, but Denis Zakaria was not accurate. Then in the 35th minute Dan Ndoy slipped into the penalty area, but shot wide.
In the last five minutes of the first half there was one chance in front of both goals, the first was for Switzerland, but wasted by Michel Ebischer. After that, in a counterattack, Edmilson Junior failed to overcome goalkeeper Cobel.
In added time, goalkeeper Abonada had his work cut out again, first reflecting a diagonal shot by Ndoy, and then having to intercept a dangerous cross by Granit Xhaka. Another miss came in the 4th minute of added time, when Rolando Vargas was brought into a clear position by Breel Embolo, but he also failed to score a goal. And seconds before the final whistle, another miss by Ebischer came, whose shot from 10 meters was cleared off the goal line.
The second half started according to the scenario of the first. And four minutes after the restart, Granit Xhaka a long shot, quite precise, but the ball went inches over the crossbar.
After that, the Swiss simply controlled the ball in the middle of the field, but in the last quarter of an hour they decided to pick up the pace and look for a second goal so as not to miss out on the victory. Rolando Vargas in the 76th minute and Breel Ebolo seconds later missed very good opportunities for a second goal in the Qatari goal, with goalkeeper Abunada once again showing mastery in the first case.
Switzerland continued with the same behavior and literally ignoring the match and Qatar took advantage to equalize. In the 4th minute of added time, the captain of the Persian Gulf team, Boualem Khouhy, punished Switzerland with a header. Homam Al Amin received the ball on the right flank from Akram Afif and crossed, and Khouhy jumped over Miro Muhaim and scored the ball into the goal.