‘Perfectly met expectations’: Nation’s media hails Newcastle star for World Cup display last night

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Newcastle United defender Fabian Schar delivered a solid display as Switzerland beat Serbia at the World Cup.

The Magpies ace made his first appearance at the Qatar tournament, with Nico Elvedi unavailable due to illness.

As per Whoscored, Schar made one tackle, two interceptions, five clearances and blocked one effort.

The Newcastle star also weighed in with an effort at the other end.

His efforts helped the Swiss run out 3-2 winners over Serbia and reach the last 16 of the World Cup.

Switzerland took an early lead through former Stoke and Liverpool forward Xherdan Shaqiri.

Serbia then turned the game around in the first half through Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic and Juventus ace Dusan Vlahovic.

However, Monaco’s Breel Embolo restored parity for the Swiss with a close-range strike on the stroke of half-time.

Embolo then set up Nottingham Forest’s Remo Freuler to half-volley hole early in the second half.

‘Luxury’

Bluewin gave Schar an impressive 8 out of 10 for his display.

‘Aligned in place of Nico Elvedi, also suffering, Fabian Schar perfectly met expectations,’ they wrote.

‘For his 74th appearance in the red jersey with a white cross, the Newcastle defender was able to contain the opposing offensives, offering few gifts to Dusan Vlahovic and Aleksandar Mitrović.

‘Murat Yakin now knows that he can count on a luxury wildcard behind the unstoppable central hinge composed of Elvedi and Akanji.’

Le Matin, meanwhile, gave the Newcastle ace a 6 out of 10 for his efforts.

‘Thrown into the mix due to Elvedi (being ill),’ they wrote.

‘A logical choice by Yakin. He was able to play long balls, but not always in simplicity and sometimes in urgency.’