Dave Posted April 3, 2021 Share Posted April 3, 2021 Switzerland "Competitive Yet Unspectacular" is possibly the best way to describe Switzerland in major tournaments, and there's nothing to suggest that this will be any different. Road to Euro 2021 Switzerland won their group thanks to five victories in eight of their qualifying matches. Whilst creating opportunities didn't seem to be a problem for Switzerland, they were very wasteful in the final third with less than 33% of their shots being on target. An inability to convert chances was a big problem for Switzerland at the last European Championships and it appears to be an issue heading in to this tournament again. They also conceded goals in over half their qualifying matches. Incredibly, they conceded later than the 84th minute in three of these matches. This will no doubt be music the big ears of Gareth Bale and whatever attacking three Italy choose to line up with.  What to Expect Manager Vladimir Petković seems to have kept the core values to any Switzerland side during his managerial reign. They're competitive, they battle well and they grind out results. One thing that should be noted however is that they struggled to emphatically beat sides that sat back and allowed pressure. This is a cause for concern given that two teams in this group, Turkey and Wales, tend to set up in this fashion and have pace in their team which could hurt Switzerland.  Possible Lineup 3-4-1-2 seems to be preferred formation for Switzerland heading in to this tournament. Yann Sommer's place looks assured in goal, and he has three experienced defenders in front of him in the form of Manuel Akanji, Nico Elvedi and Ricardo Rodriguez. In the middle, Granite Xhaka and Remo Freuler seem to have a good understanding with each other whilst Xherdan Shaqiri is still preferred as the sides main creator. Haris Seferovic is Petkovic's most favoured forward and it appears Breel Embolo has been chosen to start ahead of Mario Gavranovic next to him. The only position that appear to be up for contention are the wing back positions. Silvan Widmer and Steven Zuber appear the most popular options, however they're likely to be pushed by Kevin Mbabu and Eduardo Vargas leading up to the tournament.  Key Player "The Alpine Messi" may never be a regular starter for Liverpool but Vladimir Petkovic still shows a huge amount of faith in Xherdan Shaqiri. Playing just behind the strikers, Shaqiri still remains Switzerland's most creative outlet and will be a decisive factor in any potential progression they make throughout this tournament. He's shown throughout his career an ability to score fantastic goals from outside the penalty area. Given the similarities in ability between the majority of teams in this group, it could take just one of these goals to determine whether Switzerland qualify for the next stage of the tournament.  Predictions Whilst it's hard to imagine Switzerland struggling in a major tournament given their track record, if this was in the previous 16 team format you would fancy them to go out given the opposition in this group. The draw hasn't been kind to them based on their strengths and weaknesses but the potential of three teams qualifying to the next round gives them a potential lifeline.    Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azeem Posted May 26, 2021 Share Posted May 26, 2021 Brilliantly put 'Competitive yet Unspectacular' team of bank clerics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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