Qatar got a late equaliser to stun Switzerland and earn a valuable and improbable point in their World Cup opener.
The A-Team dominated throughout the whole match and created enough to win by many goals. Murat Yakin’s men finished the game with more clear-cut goalscoring opportunities (6-2), shot attempts (26-7) and expected goals (3.2 – 0.8).
And yet, Qatar managed to snatch a heroic draw from the jaws of defeat with a bullet header from centre-back Boualem Khoukhi in the 94th minute.
But in order to get there, we must mention first how the game unfolded.
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How did Switzerland throw two points away against Qatar?
Wide play the key despite missed chances
Switzerland wasted no time looking to exploit the space behind Qatar’s full-backs. They had quite an easy time getting to the byline and looking for crosses and cut-backs. Ricardo Rodriguez also served as a deep playmaker with long balls from the left.
But most of the damage came from the right-hand side. Denis Zakaria, a defensive midfielder who played as right-back, looked clunky trying to run with the ball. But it was his – excellent – cross that started everything for the A-Team.
Breel Embolo headed it down and Remo Freuler went to the ground after goalkeeper Mahmud Abunad clashed with him. Qatar had various miscommunications that led to over/underlappers finding themselves free with momentum heading towards the box.
From the right, Zakaria and Ruben Vargas crashed to the penalty area and had big chances to score, but couldn’t put them away.
This was ultimately the story of the game. The only opportunity the A-Team managed to put away was the easiest one, with Embolo from the spot. Everything else that required more technique and/or composure in front of goal went wide or over the bar.
Lack of control in late second half
Switzerland used the wings – mainly the right one – when looking to attack, but turned to the central corridor for control.
It’s how they managed to protect the lead for most of the time and even defend themselves with the ball. Despite missing chance after chance up front, it was the correct approach to minimise risk at the back. Manuel Akanji and Nico Elvedi had more touches as the game went on and the approach changed.
In fact, Yakin even adapted their out-of-possession formation for a while. They initially set up in a 4-4-2 shape when defending but it quickly changed to a back-five after Embolo’s goal. Dan Ndoye became the fifth man as a right-wing-back while Zakaria tucked inside as a third centre-back.
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But that didn’t last long – and it could have been the difference later on. The manager made a few pragmatic decisions throughout the game but as the game went on, reverted back to more risky ones.
As Qatar looked for crosses from one side to the other, a back-five would have been helpful in defending them and keeping danger out of their box. Miro Muheim – who lost the aerial duel that led to the equaliser – is a more attacking-minded left-back than Rodriguez at this point in his career.
Switzerland also gave up on the ball a little bit towards the end of the game. Qatar had 45% possession in the final 25 minutes. It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s considerably more than the 26% they had up until that point.
Qatar punish Switzerland
Qatar may have hurt Switzerland at the end, but they had their fair share of missed opportunities as well. The first good chance of the game, in fact, was a one-on-one between Edmilson Junior and Gregor Kobel. But the Belgian-born winger shot it straight at the Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper.
He then had yet another attempt but failed to connect with the ball properly. Qatar’s 0.11 xG-per-shot average was not bad at all as they had decent opportunities as well.
In the end, it looked like everyone but the A-Team manager felt the momentum slowly swinging in favour of the 2022 World Cup hosts.
And though there might not be many logic explanations as to why Switzerland didn’t end up winning the match, it’s precisely what makes football the greatest invention in the world.
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