Kai Havertz & Granit Xhaka battling it out on the international stage.

Substitute striker Niclas Fullkrug scored an injury-time equalizer to help hosts Germany gain a point from a 1-1 draw with Switzerland on Sunday, thereby claiming top spot in Group A.

It deprived Switzerland of their second victory over Germany in 22 matches since 1959, but they still qualified for the round of 16 in six consecutive major tournaments for the sixth time in a row – a proud record.

The army led by coach Murat Yakin would have sunk all hopes of “Die Mannchaft” if Ruben Vargas had been recognized for the goal, or Granit Xhaka’s dangerous shot had not been blocked by an ecstatic Manuel Neuer.

Meanwhile, Kai Havertz had a difficult day playing against Switzerland’s tight playing style. There is too little space to exploit, number 7 becomes blurred in attack. The Arsenal star was robbed of the ball by opponents 3 times, the most in Waldstadion.

Striker Dan Ndoye opened the scoring for Switzerland in the first half, but Germany scored the equalizer in the second minute of injury time from Fullkrug’s powerful header. This unfortunate result caused Switzerland to fall back to second place in Group A, now likely to meet defending champion Italy and 2018 World Cup runner-up Croatia in the round of 16.

However, Swiss captain midfielder Granit Xhaka – who received the Best Player of the Match award – shared with SRF: “When we see the Germans celebrating the equalizer, we can be proud of ourselves. It’s not easy to face a team like that.

“However, the late equalizer was very painful. Everyone fought for each other and ran for each other. We had to push ourselves to the limit. Then we could have beaten anyone. We were took the first step and are now confidently heading towards the round of 16.”