The Swiss army faces the Spanish armada to spring another surprise on the road to get into the semifinals of the Euro 2020. At that stage, they will meet either Italy or Belgium before the showpiece final.
Switzerland caused one of the major upsets by eliminating world champions France on penalties. Goalkeeper Yan Sommer saved Kylian Mbappe's penalty to lift the nation to their first-ever quarterfinal appearance in the European Championship. The non-favorites for this clash, Haris Seferovic gave the Swiss a deserved lead although Ricardo Rodriguez's missed penalty in the second half let France come back into the game. A quick brace from Karim Benzema followed by a screamer from Paul Pogba looked to have settled things. But Switzerland responded. Kevin Mbabu's cross found Seferovic's head again to open the chance for Gravanovic to smack in the equalizer in added time.
Spain were involved in a thriller themselves. The story of the game was similar to that of Switzerland. Croatia took an unprecedented lead through an Unai Simon howler with no opposition around but were forced back by the strong Spanish response. Pablo Sarabia, Azpilicueta and Ferran Torress scored successively to almost put the game to bed. However, Croatia responded with dignity. Substitute Mislav Orsic took advantage of a scramble and halved the deficit before assisting another substitute, Mario Pasalic to nod in a late equalizer to make it 3-3. Spain were stunned and almost went behind for the first time only to Simon denying Kramaric in extra time. La Roja gained belief afterward by scoring two quick fire goals from Morata and Oyarzabal to mark the end of this crazy game.
Switzerland vs Spain Match Details :
When: Friday, July 2nd
Timings: 21:30 (IST), 18:00 (CET)
Where: Saint Petersburg Stadium, Petersburg, Russia
Recent Form (Euro 2020)
Switzerland: DLWW
Spain: DDWW
Injuries & Suspensions
Switzerland are unfortunate to not have captain Granit Xhaka for this monstrous clash. The Arsenal midfielder received a booking while dumping out France, keeping him away from this game. Denis Zakaria is set to replace him with partner Remo Freuler in the midfield. Manager Vladimir Petkovic is expected to field an unchanged starting eleven from the last game. That means Mario Gavranovic once again has to provide something off the bench as he did against France. Xherdan Shaqiri retains his starting place. Kevin Mbabu runs from wing-back position provided width in the second half but Widmer will get the nod ahead of him again. Steven Zuber presently leads the tournament chart in assists and won't shy to offer his service again.
Luis Enrique is also adamant to not change his starting eleven from the Croatia game but demands full concentration from his squad throughout the 90 minutes or beyond. Only Jordi Alba can start ahead of Jose Gaya after his booking period was lifted. Unai Simon will continue to be in between the sticks even after conceding a horror own goal in the last game. Enrique is confident about him so David De Gea once again will be a second choice. Mikel Oyarzabal scored the last goal of the game while Dani Olmo was also impressed but the pair will be on the bench again. Alvaro Morata overcame a traumatic period in his personal life in netting in the decisive moment to prove his doubters wrong and repaid the constant faith from his manager.
Switzerland vs Spain Predicted Lineups :
Switzerland: Yann Sommer; Nico Elvedi, Manuel Akanji, Ricardo Rodriguez, Silvan Widmer, Remo Freuler, Denis Zakaria, Steven Zuber, Xherdan Shaqiri, Breel Embolo, Haris Seferovic
Spain possible starting lineup: Unai
Simon; Cesar Azpilicueta, Eric Garcia, Aymeric Laporte, Jordi Alba, Koke, Sergio Busquets, Pedri, Pablo Sarabia, Alvaro Morata, Ferran Torres
Switzerland vs Spain Head to Head :
In 22 games against Switzerland, Spain returned with three points in 16 games and only one resulted in a loss. That win for the Swiss came in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in the opening group stage but failed to advance whereas Spain became the eventual winners of that competition. They haven't met each other in a knockout competition since. The two recently met in last year's Nations League. The match in Basel ended 1-1 while Spain triumphed by a single goal in the other match in Madrid.
SWI vs SPA Dream11 Fantasy Team :
GK: Yann Sommer (Swt)
DEF: Cesar Azpilicueta (Spa), Eric Garcia (Spa), Manuel Akanji (Swt), Jordi Alba (Spa)
MID: Pablo Sarabia (Spa), Sergio Busquets (Spa), Pedri (Spa), Steven Zuber (Swt)
FW: Haris Seferovic (Swt), Alvaro Morata (Spa)
Yann Sommer's crucial penalty save and overall performance in the Euros puts him ahead of Unai Simon. The defense is all Spanish except Akanji. Cesar Azpilicueta gave Spain the lead versus Croatia and his partnership with the position interchanging Ferran Torres and Pablo Sarabia was terrific. The latter makes it into the fantasy side scoring the crucial equalizer in the first half. Sergio Busquets provided another man of the match performance for his immaculate passing throughout the game. Pedri provided the required skill and spark whenever he got on the ball. Zuber just keeps on delivering assists while Seferovic finally improved his clinically in front of the goal. Morata shook away all his miseries to score for the first time in the tournament and is willing to do again.
Match Prediction: Switzerland 1-3 Spain
Switzerland provided the shock of the tournament by knocking out France however understandably it won't happen again. They have scored plenty of goals but have left their goal open as well. Spain's possession-based play with counter-press and overloading the flanks will be too much for Switzerland. Petkovic's men have gone beyond their standard in this tournament and that is something to be proud of. Luis Enrique will be hoping his squad doesn't put their back against the wall and get the job done.
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