Cologne, Germany: Switzerland moved within touching distance of a place in the last 16 at Euro 2024 as Xherdan Shaqiri's stunning strike earned a 1-1 draw against Scotland on Wednesday. Murat Yakin's side trailed to an early Scott McTominay goal that took a hefty deflection off Swiss defender Fabian Schaer. But Shaqiri produced one of the goals of the tournament so far as the former Liverpool forward punished Anthony Ralston's woeful backpass with a brilliant curler from 20 yards.
With honours even in Cologne, the Swiss sit in second place in Group A with four points, two behind Germany after the hosts beat Hungary 2-0 earlier on Wednesday. Switzerland, who defeated Hungary 3-1 in their opener, are not mathematically certain to advance to the knockout stages but they are in a strong position heading into their last game against Germany. The Swiss have made the knockout stage in their last five major competitions.
With the best four third-placed teams qualifying for the last 16, Scotland remain in the hunt to reach the knockout rounds of a major tournament for the first time. Steve Clarke's team restored their pride with a battling display that erased the bitter taste of a wretched 5-1 loss to Germany in the tournament opener. Scotland have only one victory in their last 11 games, but a historic last 16 berth is still a possibility if they can improve their goal difference with a big win against Hungary.
Yakin had marched around the pitch an hour before kick-off gesticulating .