Soccer Football - UEFA Nations League - Group A4 - Switzerland v Denmark - Kybunpark, St. Gallen, Switzerland - October 15, 2024 Denmark's Andreas Skov Olsen in action with Switzerland's Nico Elvedi REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth
ST. GALLEN, Switzerland (Reuters) - Denmark's Christian Eriksen created one goal and scored another to grab a 2-2 draw against Switzerland, who were pegged back twice in their Nations League A Group 4 clash on Tuesday, to leave the Danes in second place on seven points.
Though the Swiss remain bottom, they managed to secure their first point of the campaign after three straight defeats, while group leaders Spain qualified for the quarter-finals with 10 points after a 3-0 win over third-placed Serbia who have four.
Switzerland went ahead when Remo Freuler reacted quickest in the box to lash a loose ball past goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel in the 26th minute but the lead lasted just over a minute as Eriksen chipped a quick free kick into the path of Gustav Isaksen, who scored with a first-time left-foot shot.
The brace of quick-fire goals was greeted by a heavy fog rolling in across the pitch, but it did not prevent referee Umut Meler from seeing Switzerland's Breel Embolo getting hacked down by Patrick Dorgu just before the break and Zeki Amdouni made no mistake from the penalty spot to make it 2-1 for the hosts.
Dorgu almost made amends early in the second half only for his effort to be ruled out for offside after a VAR review but once again Eriksen came to the rescue with a cool, cushioned shot from Pierre-Emil Hojbjerg's lay-off in the 69th minute.
The Swiss had a goal from a corner ruled out because the ball went out of play before coming back in again and, despite plenty of possession, the home side could not fashion a winner as the game finished in a stalemate.
(Reporting by Philip O'Connor; Editing by Ken Ferris)
