FIFA World Cup 2018: Reaching Last 16 was our minimum objective, says Swiss coac

29 June,2018 08:32 AM IST |  Nizhniy Novgorod  |  PA Sport

Blerim Dzemaili opened the scoring for Switzerland after they had been largely on the back-foot with Kendall Watson marking his introduction into the Costa Rica side by levelling with a second-half header
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Vladimir Petkovic


Switzerland boss Vladimir Petkovic insists reaching the Last 16 of the World Cup was the "minimum objective" as they prepare to face Sweden next week. An eventful 2-2 draw against Costa Rica in Nizhny Novgorod secured Switzerland's place as runners-up to Brazil in Group E.

Blerim Dzemaili opened the scoring for Switzerland after they had been largely on the back-foot with Kendall Watson marking his introduction into the Costa Rica side by levelling with a second-half header.

Josip Drmic came off the bench to seemingly win it for the Swiss late on, only for a late Costa Rica equaliser coming courtesy of a Yann Sommer own goal as Bryan Ruiz's penalty went in off the Switzerland goalkeeper.

The late leveller did not impact on Switzerland's place in the group and now Petkovic is targeting a long run in the knockout stages. "The Round of 16 was the minimum objective that we set ourselves that we had to achieve," he said in his post-match press conference. "Now we can focus on our next opponent," he added.

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