Swiss continue strong start to Euro qualifiers with 3-0 win over Israel

GENEVA : Switzerland continued their convincing start to the Euro 2024 qualifiers with a 3-0 home win over Israel on Tuesday on the back of a 5-0 success away against Belarus at the weekend.

Ruben Vargas put them 1-0 ahead at halftime and Zeki Amdouni and Silvan Widmer added two more goals soon after the break at the Geneva Stadium for a six-point haul from their opening two games in Group I.

Vargas took advantage of hesitation in the Israeli defence to volley the ball home for the opening goal in the 39th minute.

The Swiss then added two quick goals when the match resumed as Amdouni, making his full debut, pounced on a parry by goalkeeper Omri Glazer to score in the 48th minute and Widmer headed home from an inch-perfect pass over the Israeli defence from Denis Zakaria four minutes later.

Switzerland were awarded a penalty in the 28th minute when Cedric Itten went down under a challenge from Neta Lavi but after a lengthy VAR check referee Nikola Dabanovic of Montenegro overturned his own decision.

(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Toby Davis)