Rivals would be wise not to underestimate Swiss

SWITZERLAND havve grown accustomedd to qualifying for major tournamentss and are getting ready for their fifth successivee World Cup finals, but they have been dealt a difficult hand this year by being lumped in with Brazil and fast-improving Serbia.

The Swiss have exited at thee round of 16 stage at three of the last four World Cups, and overachieved by reaching the quarter-finals of Euro 2020.

And there is a danger that expectations have grown a little too high for a nation whoo failed to qualify for six consecutive World Cups between 1970 and 1990.

In more recent times

Switzerland have been able to punch above their weight by being organised and hard to beat.

They held France and Spain to draws in the Euro 2020 knockout stages, winning the first penalty shootout and losing the second, and remained undefeated across WWorld Cup qualifying which allowed them to advance at Italy’s expense.

Switzerland’s strong defence is anchored by Premier League centre-backs Manuel Akanji and Fabian Schar and also features experienced left back Ricardo Rodriguez, who provides regular forays forward and excellence from set-pieces.

Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka is the main man in midfield and experienced striker Haris Seferovic is the top scorer in the squad with 25 goals, while Breel Embolo and Noah Okafor offer more mobile attacking alternatives, although neither are prolific.

The Swiss won’t blow away opponents with individual brilliance, but they work well as a team and can be relied upon to provide a stern challenge even when key players are unavailable.

Switzerland are not a team who would strike fear into the hearts of their rivals but they are not to be underestimated (just ask France and Italy) and will be hopeful of taking a few scalps in Qatar.

LThe 45-year-old was Cameroon’s most capped player with 137 international appearances but his management experience is limited to spells in charge of Cameroon A, and he led Cameroon’s Under-23s at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

• Onana is an excellent

goalkeeper

• Enzo Ebosse looks an upgrade

at left-back

• There are decent forward options, including Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo

• Lack of creativity in midfield • Majority of the players ply their trades in lesser European leagues

• World Cup record his been poor

since their 1990 exploits