Xherdan Shaqiri: I will always remember this goal

Switzerland played Scotland in their second match at the Euros and drew 1-1 to move significantly closer to promotion from second place. Scotland also retained their chances of reaching the eighth round, but still have to face a tough Hungary. Xherdan Shaqiri scored a wonderful goal from mid-range.

Scotland played the opening game of their 17th European Championship. However, they were unable to cope with Germany at home and lost 5-1 to the hosts due to a red card at the end of the first half.

They had a chance to make amends against Switzerland. The latter, on the other hand, had a triumph against Hungary, and a draw was enough to get them significantly closer to reaching the eight finals.

Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay provided the opening goal of the match. However, if his shot had not been telegraphed, it most likely would not have ended up behind goalkeeper Sommer’s back.

The slight favourite got the equaliser thirteen minutes later. Thirty-two-year-old Xherdan Shaqiri took advantage of Scotland’s misplaced ball and gave goalkeeper Angus Gunn no chance with a beautiful mid-range shot.

The rest of the game did not offer any more regulation goals. The draw result seems to suit both teams as Switzerland probably secured promotion from second place and Scotland improved their chances of advancing from third. However, they will need to beat a resilient Hungary to do so.

“I will always remember this goal. The ball was coming towards me very slowly and I thought I would try it from the first and I hit it perfectly into the top corner,” the Swiss goal scorer revealed in a post-match interview.

“It gave us a lot of strength. You saw that we created a lot of chances but we couldn’t convert them. We were the better team and had more chances,” added Shaqiri, one of the current stars of the American MLS.

Source: UEFA