A milestone hat-trick from Xherdan Shaqiri has given Switzerland a 3-0 win against Honduras, with the European nation advancing to the knockout stages of the World Cup after Ecuador could only draw 0-0 with France.

After just two minutes played in Manaus, Josip Drmic split the Honduran defence and sent a low pass to Shaqiri, whose shot was smothered.

It didn't take long for the Nati to break the deadlock, however, and on the five-minute mark, Shaqiri was allowed space on the edge of the opposition box and unleashed a powerful drive into the top corner to put his side a goal up.

Both sides continued to trade chances throughout the first half, Shaqiri blasting another long-range effort wide, before Brayan Beckeles had a chance of his own on the turn, but also missed the target.

As Switzerland began sitting deeper as the game went on, a swift counter-attack helped Ottmar Hitzfeld's side double their lead.

Gokhan Inler sent a long pass to Drmic down the left flank on the half-hour mark, and he subsequently found Shaqiri, who rifled the ball home for his second goal of the match.

Early in the second half, Jerry Bengston came close to halving the deficit twice in the space of a few seconds, but Ricardo Rodriguez was at hand to clear off the line.

Controversy erupted on the hour mark as Jerry Palacios was sent tumbling in the Swiss box, but the referee waved away the penalty appeals.

The Nati went on to further extend their lead, once again courtesy of Shaqiri, who latched on to a Drmic ball before converting and scoring the 50th hat-trick in the history of the World Cup.

The final whistle was greeted with elation by the Swiss players, managers and fans, because had Ecuador so much as drawn against France, the South Americans would have gone through at the expense of Switzerland due to having scored more goals in the group stage.

Written by
Giuseppe Labellarte