Sweden and Switzerland meet today at the St. Petersburg stadium with a huge opportunity staring at them -- the chance to qualify for the Quarter Finals of the Fifa World Cup 2018. Both the countries have waited long for this opportunity: Sweden last appeared in the Quarter Finals at USA 1994, while the Swiss haven't found themselves in the last eight since 1954, when they were the hosts. The winner will play the victor of Tuesday's other fixture between Colombia and England.
Confirmed lineups:
The teams are in for SWESUI! WorldCup pic.twitter.com/jx0DR3xlZy
— FIFA World Cup (FIFAWorldCup) July 3 2018
MATCH PREVIEW: Sweden arrive in the game as underdogs, but they have thrived under this tag. While their strongest point has been their defence, scoring three goals against Mexico is a reminder for Switzerland about how dangerous they can be. The team is physically imposing and the Swiss must be wary of that aspect.
Switzerland come to this match on the back of an impressive track record in the past two years during which they have lost just one out of 25 matches they played.
ROAD TO THE ROUND OF 16: Sweden were impressive in the group stage. They opened with a 1-0 win over south Korea but lost to Germany after a last-minute goal by Toni Kroos. Janne Andersson's team then routed Mexico 3-0 to secure top spot in their group.
The Scandinavians will be hoping for more from forward duo Marcus Berg and Ola Toivonen, who have scored just one goal between them in Russia so far. The team's top scorer to date is center-back Andreas Granqvist with two goals.
Switzerland dramatically beat Serbia in a memorable match in which Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri scored but also got in trouble for their celebrations. The Swiss opened with a 1-1 draw vs Brazil before that historic 2-1 win over Serbia. And, while they drew 2-2 against Costa Rica, Switzerland should be able to move on from that game and focus on the positives they have accumulated in the tournament.
HEAD TO HEAD: There have been 28 international matches between Sweden and Switzerland. The Swiss have won 11, the Swedes ten, with seven of them ending in draws.
A WORD OF CAUTION: Switzerland will be missing key defenders Fabian Schaer and captain Stephan Lichtsteiner, while Sweden will be without Sebastian Larsson.
TEAM SPEAK: Sweden coach Janne Andersson said his team will be prepared for a penalty shootout to decide the duel with Switzerland. The absence of world-class strikers in either side has led to predictions that the scores will be tied after 120 minutes at Saint Petersburg Stadium.
"It's my job to decide on the players who need to perform, in this case for the penalty shootout situation," Andersson said. "We've talked about it in the squad... and I'm going to rank the players, the entire squad in terms of penalties."
"The starting point is that every player on the pitch is a defender. It’s what Marcus Berg and Ola Toivonen personify the most, with the work they do. Then we relate to each-other and not to where the opponents are. We don’t run to chase our opponents."
"It’s a situation again where we have to reach our personal best, I know I keep on repeating it but I think it’s a very good description on what is needed from us both as individuals and as a team. We need to reach our absolute highest level, then we will have the chance to beat Switzerland as well," said Anderson.
Sweden defender Andreas Granqvist said on Monday: "We are in the Round of 16 not only because of an incredibly strong collective defence, but also because we have dared in the attacking game and we will go in and do everything we can tomorrow to reach a similar performance to what we did against Mexico."
Switzerland coach Vladimir Petkovic: "We got ourselves into trouble in the first three games. Tomorrow we want to control the game from the beginning. We will be hungry like our fans who have travelled to St. Petersburg. It seems that we have triggered something in Switzerland."
Switzerland defender Michael Lang: "The most important thing on Tuesday will be that we do everything for the success of the team. I haven't been in the starting lineup for a few weeks. I am really looking forward to this game. We're ready for the Round of 16."
Granit Xhaka: "Of course, thoughts are coming up about the elimination at EURO 2016 on penalties. We want to win the game against Sweden in 90 or 120 minutes."
POSSIBLE LINE-UPS:
SWEDEN: Robin Olsen; Mikael Lustig, Victor Lindelöf, Andreas Granqvist, Ludwig Augustinsson; Viktor Claesson, Gustav Svensson, Albin Ekdal, Emil Forsberg; Marcus Berg, Ola Toivonen
SWITZERLAND: Yann Sommer; Michael Lang, Johan Djourou, Manuel Akanji, Ricardo Rodriguez; Valon Behrami, Granit Xhaka; Xherdan Shaqiri, Blerim Dzemaili, Steven Zuber; Josip Drmic
TRIVIA:
-- This will be Sweden's 50th World Cup match, making them the 11th team in World Cup history, and the seventh from Europe, to reach the half-century mark.
-- Switzerland's incredible recent record now stands at just one loss in the last 25 matches.
-- It was also on July 3 in 1994 that the Swedes were last victorious in a second-round match. In their first knockout encounter at the USA, they defeated Saudi Arabia 3-1, and went on to claim third place at the event.