In brief
- Qatar v Switzerland has ended in a 1-1 draw.
- Qatar managed to claw back a last-second goal after a bruising, fruitless 95 minutes of play
Switzerland has emerged victorious in a 1-0 victory over Qatar on Sunday, in a game that saw the Swiss raining attacks on goal.
The siege began right away, with Dan Ndoye making a lunge for a goal in the sixth minute off a ball from Michel Aebischer. It was the beginning of a very busy day for Qatar goalkeeper Mahmoud Abunada.
Ndoye would appear again in the 10th minute, missing a sitter to groans from the crowd.
More attacks quickly led to the first penalty of the match. Remo Freuler ran into a header put in his path by Breel Embolo and got flattened by Qatar goalkeeper Abunada. It was Abunada that came off second best, however and needed a medical check before play could continue.
Switzerland was given the penalty and forward Breel Embolo casually put the ball into the bottom left corner of the net to make it 1-0. The goal was controversial — there is plenty of conjecture online this morning about whether Embolo's goal was onside or off. The TV angle made it appear to there was an offside, which may have been an optical illusion, but the goal stands regardless.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
Qatar drew two penalties in the 23rd minute — Jassem Gaber recieved a booking for knocking over Ruben Vargas on his way to the penalty area. Goalkeeper Abunada was also booked for the foul that resulted in Switzerland's penalty.
Qatar spent much of the second half looking for a way out, and failing to find one. Every move they made seemed to result in a foul or a giving away of the ball.
Qatar winger Yusuf Abdurisag seemed emblematic of Qatar's problems. In the 55th minute, a golden opportunity opened up in front of him. In the open and with miles of space to work with, he seemed thoroughly surprised, failing to get a touch on the ball at all.
After an hour's play, the substitutions began. Qatar brought on Karim Boudiaf, Ahmed Alaa and Ahmed Fathy to replace Ayoub Al Oui, Jassem Gaber and Yusuf Abdurisag.
Switzerland's changes came a few minutes later. Fabian Rieder and Johan Manzambi emerged to replace Michel Aebischer and Dan Ndoye.
Perhaps feeling like they had the game sewn up against an inferior opponent, Switzerland seemed to relax a bit in the second half. The ruthlessness they'd displayed in the early stages eased, allowing Qatar to perk up rather suddenly in the final 20 minutes.
With six minutes of injury time added on, Qatar applied pressure. Their work paid off in the 95th minute when a beautiful cross from the left allowed Qatar captain Boualem Khoukhi to slam home a header and make it 1-1.
Khoukhi was immediately buried by his team mates, unable to believe he'd saved them.
When the final whistle blew, the match ended level at 1-1. The Swiss had grown too confident and, in the dying moments of the match, had been made to pay for it.
Stick around for all the match action today across SBS News and SBS Sport, and don't forget that the Socceroos take on Türkiye from 2pm.
You can watch all 104 matches of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ live, free and exclusive on SBS, SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand.
For the latest from SBS News, download our app and subscribe to our newsletter.
