Swiss roll in knockouts as Powercube lights up and Xhaka grabs… headlines

Granit Xhaka has a new party trick and it's really, really effective. Switzerland are knockout against Serbia and Mark Clattenburg would be proud.

This World Cup has already had some remarkable moments, but no feat can match that of Fernando Rapallini. He achieved the impossible. He sailed the tightrope. He put out the fires, mastered the narrative, and let this pressure cooker simmer and steam without ever boiling over.

There were 11 yellow cards, including one for unused Serbia substitute Predrag Rajkovic, who will return from Qatar with more cards than minutes. Six of those warnings were handed out starting in the 80th minute and over about 10 minutes of temperamental, irascible, high-stakes stoppage time. The leader exchanged hands three times with five different scorers and only once one of the benches spilled onto the pitch.

Switzerland's win over Serbia was a phenomenal way to end a spectacular World Cup group stage.

Hours before the final round of matches ahead of the Round of 16, the televised picks for the FA Cup third round were announced. Half of the six fixtures are entirely in the Premier League, with Sheffield Wednesday, Cardiff and Oxford playing top-flight sides in the other fixtures.

It should perhaps not have been surprising that ITV chose to hand over its main channel platform to Cameroon's game against a much changed Brazil.

Those who listened to the most meaningless and much less loaded game of Group G were finally treated to a surprise victory and a red card-inducing celebration from Vincent Aboubakar, who integrated an incredible degree of cult vibes in his two goals in the final. Never before has a player been sent off so willingly by such a sorry official.

Cameroon's win also meant England were top performers in a World Cup group stage for the first time in history, which is more than enough to make you wonder what could accomplish if Gareth Southgate were sacked mid-tournament or decided to release the handbrake.

But apart from one of the extra strings, Serbia and Switzerland played the thrilling roller coaster of a game that tipped qualification against a turbulent political and historical backdrop.

Switzerland started the night in control and were eager to prove it, becoming the first team on record to score three or more shots in the first minute of a World Cup match.

Serbia quickly set up and Andrija Zivkovic cut inside from the right to launch a thunderous effort against the post, much to Andros Townsend's presumed approval on co-commentary.

Then came the goals: four goals evenly split in 24 minutes before half-time, the first time since England v Argentina in the '98 World Cup that two teams have scored more than once. times each in the first half of a match in the final tournament. .

Xherdan Shaqiri's efforts were usually deflected and celebrated, much to the relief of the vigilant Rapallini. Aleksandar Mitrovic equalized with a dazzling header and the excellent Dusan Vlahovic temporarily put Serbia through. However, Breel Embolo's well-worked goal caught them and they never really recovered.

Shortly after the restart came one of the team goals of the tournament. Embolo held the ball impeccably and played it back to Powercube Shaqiri, whose cut cross was returned by Ruben Vargas' heel for Remo Freuler to convert. It was a glorious gesture.

Serbia could only stave off five blows after that. Having earned their way into the match to lead once, their resources were exhausted. Their chances came in a flash. Vlahovic was taken off in the 55th minute and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Dusan Tadic and Zivkovic were all substituted before the end as Dragan Stojkovic threw everything against the wall but nothing really stuck.

There was a moment when Mitrovic worked an opening before collapsing to the ground in the penalty area under light pressure from Fabian Schar, but Rapallini didn't budge.

The same couldn't be said for the Serbia bench, who were already furiously protesting the decision before Peacekeeper Granit Xhaka decided to grab his final tackle in their direction.

"There's nothing in the story behind those two games," Xhaka said in the build-up. "We are Switzerland, they are Serbia and that's it. We are here to play football, like them."

Xhaka has done a lot; he was elected...