Switzerland booked a last-16 showdown with Portugal at the World Cup on Friday after a 3-2 win over Serbia in a bad-tempered match secured them second place in Group G.
Xherdan Shaqiri's deflected strike put the Swiss ahead but Aleksandar Mitrovic's fine header brought Serbia level at Stadium 974.
Dusan Vlahovic then gave Serbia the lead only for Breel Embolo to equalise before half-time.
Remo Freuler's brilliant goal early in the second half sent the Swiss through to the knockout rounds for the fourth time in five World Cups.
Switzerland edged the 2018 group-stage encounter between the two sides when Granit Xhaka cancelled out Mitrovic’s opener and Shaqiri fired in a last-gasp winner.
Both men were back in Murat Yakin’s starting XI for Switzerland, who got off to an electric start with two good attempts inside the first 25 seconds, Vanja Milinkovic-Savic saving a close-range effort from Embolo before Xhaka failed to bury the rebound.
Serbia won the first corner but Nikola Milenkovic nodded off target. Soon after, Dusan Tadic found Andrija Zivkovic in space who tried to pull his side ahead after 10 minutes but his powerful strike from distance instead thumped off the left post and at the feet of Mitrovic, who saw his attempt gathered by Gregor Kobel.
It took 90 minutes for Shaqiri to find the back of the next in 2018 — this time it took just 20, beginning with Ricardo Rodriguez’s drive into the area from the left.
Strahinja Pavlovic was there to block the swerving cross but failed to clear, instead directing the ball to Djibril Sow. The Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder teed up Shaqiri, who sent a left-footed strike into the bottom-right corner.
It took just six minutes for Serbia to respond. Tadic floated in a cross from outside the area, perfectly timing it to meet Mitrovic and the Fulham striker, on the run, drew things level with a fine header into the top corner.
Shaqiri nearly pulled Switzerland ahead but it was Serbia who took the lead when Freuler gave away the ball near the penalty spot and Vlahovic pounced, firing past the far post with a leaping left-footed strike.
It was all square by the break, however, when Silvan Widmer sent a low cross across the face of goal for a sliding Embolo to finish from inside the six-yard box.
Switzerland restored the lead inside three second-half minutes. A patient passing sequence ended in a brilliant move by Ruben Vargas, who issued a perfect back-heel for Freuler, who sent a powerful strike into the bottom corner.
Serbia were spared falling further behind by the offside flag but missed a good chance to level when Kobel did well to read Filip Kostic’s attempt from the left.
Tensions rose after Mitrovic appealed for a penalty after claiming he had been pulled down by Fabian Schar. The referee did not agree, his decision provoking substitutes to spill on to the pitch for a brief tussle.
Several would come on in hopes of shifting momentum, but with the end in sight, the Swiss soon shifted to shutdown mode, surviving seven minutes of stoppage time — including another heated disagreement between the two sides — to book their trip to the knockout rounds.
The years Ramadan fell in May
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
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Selected fixtures
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Poland v Portugal 10.45pm
Russia v Sweden 10.45pm
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Belgium v Switzerland 10.45pm
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Netherlands v Germany 10.45pm
Rep of Ireland v Denmark 10.45pm
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Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
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Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
