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Source: Keystone
The Swiss team is under pressure in the Nations League after just one point from two games. You have to score against Spain in Madrid if you don’t want to lose touch.
Spain – Switzerland
Sat 10.10. 20:10 – 23:15 | SRF two
E 2020 | 185 min
When the team was announced a week ago, Vladimir Petkovic made no secret of it. The national coach’s focus is on the final of the European Championship next June, which has been postponed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic. By then, at the latest, your team must be in top form, then the SFV team must present itself in the best possible shape to finally achieve the long-awaited goal: to reach the quarter-finals of a major tournament.
This fall’s Nations League and the two test matches against World Cup finalist Croatia and World Cup third Belgium will help Petkovic further develop the team in terms of quality and quantity. The duels against the world ranking number 1 (Belgium), Spain (number 7), Croatia (8), Germany (12) and Ukraine (24) are ideal indicators, also when it comes to qualifying for the 2022 World Cup, which begins in spring. in Qatar.
In recent years, the Swiss have repeatedly indicated that they can keep up with the greats of world soccer, most recently in the 1-1 draw against Germany in Basel in September, when they were closer to victory. And yet, victories against top teams are few and far between in the Petkovic era. In 2016 they beat the European champion Portugal (without Cristiano Ronaldo) 2-0 at the beginning of the World Cup qualification, almost two years ago the SFV beat Belgium 5-2.
Special circumstances
In Madrid, the team makes a new attempt, under special circumstances. On Friday a state of emergency was declared in the Spanish capital due to the sharp increase in the number of infections in recent weeks. The team felt Corona’s influence directly due to positive tests from Xherdan Shaqiri and Manuel Akanji this week. While Akanji was not allowed to travel to Spain, Shaqiri received the go-ahead from the local health authority in Madrid on Friday night for a deployment. It would be the Liverpool midfielder’s first international game since June 2019.
Image: Keystone
Despite the confusion surrounding Shaqiri, Petkovic remained calm: “We are dealing with this issue in a relaxed manner.” Their focus is on the match against leader Spain, who beat Ukraine 4-0 at home in September. “They are very good opponents who are currently the favorites not only against us, but against most teams,” Petkovic said. “However, we will try to make our game play out and tilt the outcome on our side.”
The two-time European champion (2008 and 2012) and world champion since 2010 has undergone a radical change. In addition to the experienced Sergio Ramos and Sergio Busquets, coach Luis Enrique has a large number of young players, including Ansu Fati of FC Barcelona, known as the “new Messi”. “They have a good mix of seasoned players and young, hungry players,” Petkovic said. His style of play is still similar to that of the past, but with a little less ball possession, but with more speed in the forward game and a strong counterattack.
Petkovic has a clear idea of how his team can get into trouble for opponents, who have been unbeaten in 14 games. “We have to be more efficient at the end,” said the national coach 24 hours before the game. Croatia would have scored two goals out of four goals on Wednesday, and only one out of four chances. “The quality of the passport has to be very high, more than 90 percent. Then we can keep up with this team, ”Petkovic said.
The starting point is clear. The Swiss must score at least one point if they want to have a voice in the battle for group victory. Also when it comes to the draw for the qualifying groups for the Qatar 2022 World Cup, the sense of achievement would be important after three games without a win. The top ten teams in Europe will be placed in Pot 1, with Switzerland currently number 10 in Europe. Only group winners qualify directly for the World Cup.
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