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World Cup : Cyprus 0:0 Switzerland
A dogged Cyprus has denied Switzerland a four-point lead in UEFA's World Cup qualifying Group E with a 0-0 draw in Nicosia.
Switzerland headed into Saturday's match with a one-point lead in Group E over Albania and Iceland and would have been confident of stretching that margin to four points as Cyprus had lost 11 of their past 13 internationals.
But despite dominating possession at the Neo GSP, the visiting Swiss were unable to beat Antonis Georgallides in Cyprus' goal as the home team moved up to four points in Group E, rising off the bottom of the standings above Slovenia.
Although Cyprus conceded the ball to Switzerland for the majority of the 90 minutes, the hosts had a handful of gilt-edged chances to snatch victory with Konstantinos Makridis hitting the bar in the first half, while Dimitris Christofi forced Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer into a brilliant save just after half-time.
A frustrating night for Switzerland was capped off when their young striker Haris Seferovic nodded the ball wide of the target in second-half injury time.
The result sees Switzerland return home with a two-point gap at the top of Group E ahead of their return match versus Cyprus in June.
