Swiss watch is broken! Qatar win historic point in the nick of time

The Swiss watch broke in the nick of time!

A dominant performance before the break and a smart approach after it seemed like excellent paths to Switzerland's opening World Cup victory, but the Qatar captain Boualem Khoukhi appeared out of nowhere in the 94th minute and shocked the European team with a smashing header, bringing his country the first-ever point at World Cup - 1-1!

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The result by no means depicts the real situation on the pitch, as Qatar barely held their head above water most of the time, and only thanks to their goalkeeper, Mahmoud Abunada, they avoided a defeat. Despite numerous chances, the striker of Cameroonian descent, Breel Embolo, turned out to be the only Swiss player capable of finding the net, though even he did it from the spot in the 17th minute.

Dan Ndoye, Michel Aebischer, Denis Zakaria, Ruben Vargas, and others failed to convert their chances and make Switzerland's lead comfortable, and the punishment came in the worst possible moment.

Even though the expectations weren't high - after all, Brazil and Morocco are taking the stage in a blockbuster clash in just a few hours - the opening half of the duel between Switzerland and Qatar was pretty eventful.

The Asian team's Edmilson Jr opened the game with a massive chance after only two minutes, but the Borussia Dortmund keeper Gregor Kobel denied him, just as he did in the 43rd minute, stopping the only two opportunities Qatar had before the break.

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On the other hand, Julen Lopetegui's defence had its hands full. Nottingham Forest forward Dan Ndoye had five shots alone, Breel Embolo added three, while Switzerland made 14 attempts in total. Six of them went on target, but the Qatar goalie, Mahmoud Abunada, did wonders between the posts preventing the two players mentioned above as well as their teammates Ruben Vargas and Denis Zakaria from handing a massive blow to his team, while Michel Aebischer was denied by a goal-line clearance.

Still, the only time he made an error led to the rivals' opener in the 17th minute.

The 26-year-old custodian was late to pick up a ball following a header and clattered into Remo Freuler, committing a penalty which the Cameroon-born Switzerland striker Embolo sent home for the lead. It was the first World Cup goal from the spot for this national team in its 13th appearance and 42nd match.

Despite a number of chances to knock the rivals out completely, the Swiss had more work to do after the break, as their advantage wasn't comfortable.

Unlike the first 45 minutes, the second period was considerably slower, played at a lower tempo and with fewer scoring chances. Switzerland still controlled the game and it was the most important for them, as that was the right way towards maintaining the lead and securing three points.

Only after a half an hour of play after the break did the Swiss find themselves in scoring opportunities, but Vargas and Embolo's efforts were unsucessful. On the other hand, instead of pushing for an equalizer, Lopetegui's men folded completely and offered little resistance thereafter.

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But then, one final desperate attempt to score, the captain Boualem Khoukhi's run in the rivals' box and a strong header that stunned the Swiss and secured a point to Qatar! They were fighting for their lives throughout the game and in the nick of time managed to bring the favourites to their knees, creating the first surprising result in the World Cup.

Given that Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina also drew 1-1 yesterday, everything is up in the air in Group B. The real excitement is yet to come.

WORLD CUP - GROUP STAGE

First round

Thursday, 11.06.

Mexico - South Africa 2-0 (1-0)

/Quinones 9, Jimenez 67/

Friday, 12. 06.

South Korea - Czech Republic 2-1 (0-0)

/Hwang In Beom 67, Oh Hyeon-Gyu 80 - Krejci 59/

Canada - B&H 1-1 (0-1)

/Larin 78 - Lukic 21/

Saturday, 13.06.

USA - Paraguay 4-1 (3-0)

/Bobadilla 7 og, Balogun 31, 45+5, Reyna 90+8 - Mauricio 73/

Qatar - Switzerland 1-1 (0-1)

/Khoukhi 90+4 - Embolo 17 pen/

Sunday, 14.06.

01.00: (1.62) Brazil (3.80) Morocco (5.80)

04.00: (6.80) Haiti (4.45) Scotland (1.47)

07.00: (4.50) Australia (3.50) Turkey (1.83)

20.00: (1.03) Germany (15.0) Curacao (50.0)

23.00: (2.10) Netherlands (3.45) Japan (3.50)

Monday, 15.06.

02.00: (3.60) Ivory Coast (2.90) Ecuador (2.30)

05.00: (2.00) Sweden (3.35) Tunisia (4.00)

19.00: (1.10) Spain (9.50) Cape Verde (27.0)

22.00: (1.70) Belgium (4.00) Egypt (4.75)

Tuesday 16.06.

01.00: (7.50) Saudi Arabia (4.20) Uruguay (1.47)

04.00: (1.95) Iran (3.35) N.Zealand (4.20)

22.00: (1.47) France (4.50) Senegal (6.75)

***odds are subject to change***