Romania and Switzerland battled to a 1-1 draw in an exciting Euro 2016 fixture on Wednesday.  

The clash was the 13th time the sides had faced off, with each having won five of the previous encounters, drawing the remaining two.

There was a good tempo about both sides in the early stages, with Haris Seferovic missing a glorious chance for Switzerland in the 6th minute following a lovely piece of skill.

The Swiss began to exert control over the game as time wore on and Seferovic had another chance in the 17th minute, only to see his effort saved by Anton Tatarusanu.

Then, against the run of play, Romania were awarded a penalty as Stephan Lichtsteiner was adjudged to have fouled Alexandru Chipciu. The spot kick was duly buried by Bogdan Stancu.

Fabian Schar had the Swiss straight back on the front foot as his long range effort was parried clear after 20 minutes.

Just seven minutes later Cristian Sapunaru missed a golden chance to double Romania’s lead as his shot struck the outside of post, the ball having fallen kindly following a free kick.

Romania enjoyed a threatening spell of possession, but it was the Swiss who wasted yet another good chance as Blerim Dzemail headed wide, to conclude the half’s action.

Romania missed a good chance just a minute into the second half as Ovidiu Hoban fired wide. They then came close again as Johan Djorou and Yann Sommer combine to clear.

Switzerland then got their goal. It came as the ball fell kindly for Admir Mehmedi, who rifled his shot into the far corner in the 57th minute.

The Swiss were dominated the game once more, but were finding clear-cut chances hard to come by. Breel Embolo had their next opportunity in the 68th minute as he headed wide.

The Swiss continued to press for another goal as Romania began to tire, but were unable to produce any more clear-cut chances.

At the final whistle the scores were at 1-1.

Photo: Reuters