Xherdan Shaqiri took off as soon as the ball hit the back of the net.

It was no surprise where he was headed after scoring the first goal in Switzerland’s 3-2 win over Serbia on Friday, a result that put his team into the round of 16 at the World Cup for the third tournament in a row.

Born in Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008, Shaqiri ran straight to the opposing fans to celebrate — putting his finger to his lips after having been previously taunted by that section of the crowd.

The game was only 20 minutes old and the tension was palpable.

Most importantly for Switzerland, it went through to the knockout round after finishing second in Group G and will next face Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo on Tuesday at Lusail Stadium.

But the tensions surrounding this particular match-up always threatened to explode.

The countries met in the group stage at the last World Cup in 2018, resulting in a Swiss victory, but Shaqiri and Xhaka were fined for celebrating with hand gestures representing Albania’s national eagle symbol.