Bettitude's 2021 Match Of The Year (Male)

Written By Jacobs Dunga

A pulsating encounter that saw missed penalties and comebacks from both sides has been chosen as our Writer’s game of the year 2021.

World champions France qualified from Group F of the European Championships as winners with five points. A group that had four time world champions, Germany and then reigning champions, Portugal with Hungary completing the teams in that regard.

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Switzerland meanwhile got to the knockouts as one of the best third placed teams after they placed third in group A behind Italy and Wales respectively.

Vladimir Petkovic’s men entered the encounter as the underdogs and were as good as defeated even before a ball was kicked in the game. There was however an unexpected opening to the match as Steven Zuber’s cross found Haris Seferovic whose header flew past Hugo Lloris in goal for France.

The Swiss held on strongly in the first half and prevented the world champions who struggled to get in their mojo from threatening. It was a first half to forget for Didier Deschamps and his men.

The Swiss started the second period even stronger than they finished the first as the VAR after a routine check awarded a penalty for a foul on Steven Zuber on the edge of the box. It could have been double delight for the designated away side but Les Bleus skipper Hugo Lloris dived low to his right to keep out Ricardo Rodriguez’ effort thereby keeping France in the game.

France soon came back to life with returning Karim Benzema delectably controlling a Kylian Mbappe through ball before slotting past Yann Somemer to bring the scores level with 57 minutes gone in the game.

The momentum that saw the French nation cruise to the world title three years ago in Russia seemed to have reawakened and it was Benzema again who put France ahead for the first time in the game on 59 minutes, the Real Madrid striker nodding home on the line after Antoine Griezmann’s rebound was parried by Sommer into his path.

Petkovic’s men were beginning to wane and condemned to defeat, they looked disjointed and in a state of imbroglio with France creating chances after another looking to kill off the game. France’s light of the tournament, Paul Pogba soon came to party in the 75th minute when his delightful curler waved past the hapless Yann Sommer and into the roof of the net to double France’s lead and beyond supposed reach of Switzerland.

“We did what we needed to in order to go 3-1 up and then we showed weakness, something unusual for us. Losing on penalties is always cruel for a team,” Deschamps said after the match.”

The game looked settled after Pogba’s brilliant effort with France already anticipating a potential matchup against former world champions Spain. Haris Seferovic would then step up from the dust to head home a cross from the Mbabu in the 81st minute to partially restore hope for the Swiss.

There were already wild jubilations in the stands as France looked destined for a date with Spain who had negotiated their way past Croatia earlier in the day in another thrilling encounter. Substitute Mario Gavranovic would however send shivers down the spine of the French supporters as he latched onto captain Granit Xhaka’s ball to level the scores in the closing stages of the game.

“Nobody believed in us anymore at that stage,” Sommer said. “We felt France had become a bit complacent and maybe thought they had already won it. So we used that to our advantage.” Said Sommer after the game.

They held on against the torrent of attacks from France and were Lucy not to concede with the last kick of the game as Kingsley Coman’s effort was only able to hit the bar and thus send the game to extra time.

“Honestly I am still in shock,” said Sommer, who became the most capped Swiss keeper with 65 international appearances. “We showed courage, heart, we left everything out there.

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“When you come back from two goals down against the world champions it is just unbelievable, and then to win on penalties, I could not be prouder of the way we did it.”

France threw everything at Switzerland in extra time but couldn’t just find a cutting edge as Mbappe wasted a host of chances to win it for the world champions.

There were just a few moments of brilliance from Vladimir Petkovic’s side as they barely threatened in the whole of extra time.

They were lucky not to concede deep into the second period of extra time from an Olivier Giroud header and saw the game progressed to penalties.

Kylian Mbappe missed the decisive fifth kick for France to unexpectedly send Switzerland into their first quarter finals of a major tournament since hosting the World Cup in 1954 and their first knockout win since the 1938 World Cup.

France defender Raphael Varane acknowledged the team’s poor spells of play in the game.

“It’s hugely disappointing. We completely messed up our first half. We reacted in the second half but then left them space and they came back,” he said.

“Penalties are a lottery. We could have scored in extra time as we had the chances to do that.”

France never looked like that invincible side that breezed past everyone enroute to lifting the world title in Russia. It was by fortuitous that they toppled their group in the first instance and were deservedly dumped out of the tournament by a dogged and resolute Swiss side who gave a spirited performance Gaia at the star studded French team.

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