Switzerland break down Peru

Late goals by Stephan Lichtsteiner and Xherdan Shaqiri gave Switzerland victory against Peru in their last friendly before the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

In front of a full house of 15,000 fans in Luzern, where they beat Jamaica 1-0 on Friday, the Nati played an understrength Peruvian side fresh from losing in England as Switzerland prepared to face Ecuador in Brazil. Ottmar Hitzfeld started without recently-injured Xherdan Shaqiri, but he was to come off the bench to clinch victory after Stephan Lichtsteiner had broken the deadlock with 11 minutes left.

Switzerland struggled at first to break down Peru and the visitors’ Paolo Hurtado had the best chance before the interval, ghosting past the home defence but just missing the target. Josip Drmić fired over after a Lichtsteiner cross, but chances were still few and Granit Xhaka made way for Shaqiri as Hitzfeld searched for a creative spark.

However, it was Lichtsteiner who made it 1-0, heading in a Ricardo Rodríguez cross. Shortly after, Shaqiri doubled the lead and Hitzfeld's side then missed two further opportunities. They face Ecuador on 15 June in Brasilia before taking on France and Honduras in Group E.