Serbia drove through Nico Elvedi's own objective in first-half stoppage time and Aleksandar Mitrovic multiplied the benefit before Predrag Rajkovic saved a punishment from Swiss striker Breel Embolo.
With Serbia and Switzerland essentially competing against each other to avoid relegation from Group A4, you’d have been forgiven for expecting a brighter start from two sides desperate to beat the other.
It turned out to be quite the opposite though, as the only bright spot in an incredibly dull start came when Veljko Birmancevic’s tame effort was easily gathered by Gregor Kobel.
It took until just after the half-hour mark for the game's first big chance to arrive, but it was wasted by Breel Embolo who skewed wide after he was teed up by Silvan Widmer.
That miss proved a costly one before the break too, when in first-half stoppage time, Serbia took the lead against the run of play.
There was certainly a huge element of fortune in how it came about, as Lazar Samardzic’s wicked delivery caught the Swiss defence off guard and deflected in off the outstretched leg of Nico Elvedi.
It was the Serbian defence caught off guard in the infancy of the second half when a well-worked short corner was prodded home by Embolo, but Dan Ndoye was adjudged to have strayed offside in the build-up and Serbia’s clean sheet remained intact a little longer.
That was proof that the Serbian defence were living a charmed life, but it was in fact the Swiss goal that was nestled next.
Aleksandar Mitrovic’s endeavour saw him keep a lost cause in play, and he reaped the rewards of his tireless running when his thunderous right-footed effort found the top corner.
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