Against Argentina, Ottmar Hitzfeld’s Switzerland will be looking to repeat the feat of 1954, when while hosting the World Cup, they made it to the quarter-finals for the second time. However, the Swiss have never beaten the Albicelestes in six previous occasions, drawing two, while losing four of them. Argentina became one of only four teams to have won all the games in the group stage and will be looking to carry on that form.
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Argentina’s talisman Lionel Messi has scored 4 goals out of the 6 scored by his team so far in the tournament, and a lot will be expected of the diminutive Argentine, while the other star-players who have had a rather dismal start to the World Cup will be expected to find form as we reach business end of the tournament. The back four of the Albicelestes will have a hard time taming the flamboyant Xherdan Shaqiri, while the solid midfield of the Swiss could be pivotal as they look to create through the middle.
Venue
Arena de Sao Paulo, is host to one of the three biggest clubs in Sao Paulo, Club Football Corinthians Paulista; the most supported club in the city. The stadium was constructed in the neighbourhood of Itaquera.
The Arena will host a total of 6 games during the World Cup, which included the opener between Brazil and Croatia and has a capacity of 63,321.
Kickoff
June 15 – 01:00 PM – Local Time (Brazil)
June 21 – 9:30 PM – Indian Standard Time (IST)
Possible Starting Lineups
With Sergio Aguero ruled out of the clash due to a hamstring injury, PSG wide-man Ezequiel Lavezzi will be seen filling on the left hand side in a front three which also includes Lionel Messi and Gonzalo Higuain. Alejandro Sabella is expected to stick to the 4-3-3 formation which gives Messi the free No. 10 role. Angel di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain will be expected to get their names on the score-sheet after having failed to score so far this tournament.
Argentina (4-3-3): Romero; Zabaleta, Fernandez, Garay, Rojo; Gago, Mascherano, Di Maria; Messi, Higuain, Lavezzi
Switzerland are without the injured Mario Gavranovic, who suffered a serious knee injury in training, while Steve von Bergen will also be unavailable after having sustained an injury against France. Shaqiri scored a brilliant hat-trick in the 3-0 win over Honduras, becoming the first Swiss player to score multiple goals since 1954, and he will be looking to build on the brilliant World Cup he has had. The Swiss defence which has performed better than their opponents so far in the World Cup, will look to keep the South Americans silenced. Fabian Schar is expected to retain his place, after having put in an impressive performance against Honduras.
Switzerland (4-2-3-1): Benaglio; Lichtsteiner, Rodriguez, Djourou, Schaer; Inler, Xhaka, Shaqiri, Behrami; Mehmedi, Drmic
Key Facts
- In their last meeting in 2012, Lionel Messi scored his first hat-trick for the Albicelestes. The two teams have met in the World Cup on only one occasion, in 1966 when the South Americans won 2-0.
- After a barren run that extended over seven appearances in the World Cup, Lionel Messi has scored four goals in three appearances in the 2014 World Cup so far, and is the joint second top scorer of the tournament.
- Argentina have been knocked out of the World Cup in the Round of 16 only once when Romania beat them in 1994.
- The Albicelestes have won only 3 out of their last 10 World Cup matches against European opposition, drawing on four occasions, while losing on three. Switzerland on the other hand have won only once in their previous six encounters against South American opposition, losing 4 while drawing a solitary match, with the lone victory coming against Ecuador
- In 7 out of their last 10 appearances in the World Cup, the Swiss have managed to keep a clean sheet.
- The Albicelestes have managed an incredible possession figure of 65% so far in the tournament, which is the highest among all the teams, while also being the highest average for the South Americans since 1966.
- Half of the goals scored by Argentina in this tournament have come from outside of the box, Lionel Messi having scored all of them.
Key Battles
Lionel Messi vs Fabian Schar
Fabian Schar who put in a solid display in the 3-0 win over Honduras, will have the huge task of trying to stop Lionel Messi from dictating the game. Yes, Lionel Messi just does not dictate the play, he dictates the games too. Messi has scored the winner for his side in the first two matches of the World Cup, while has been awarded with the Man of the Match for each of the 3 matches in the World Cup. Schar and his defensive partner Djourou will have to be at the top of their game from letting the diminutive forward from influencing the game.
Xherdan Shaqiri vs Pablo Zabaleta
The flamboyant mid-fielder will like to take advantage of constant forwards forays of Zabaleta, who despite of being a very good defender, loves to get forward and contribute in the attack, which may leave the Argentine defence vulnerable to counter-attacks. The defender would be required to be at the top of his game to help negate the threat of Shaqiri, no mean feat in itself, otherwise, the vulnerable back-line could be well and truly exposed by the swift movement of the 22-year-old.
Predictions
Alejandro Sabella’s men will be looking to ensure smooth passage to the quarter-finals, after having successfully avoided facing France in the Round of 16-tie while Hitzfeld’s men will also be looking to go against the odds and book a place in the quarter-finals of the tournament for only the third time in their history. With the leaky defence and the stellar attack of Argentina, a goal fest could definitely be on the cards, and nothing can be ruled out, but the Albicelestes look good to go through to the quarters.
Predicted Scoreline: Argentina 3 – 2 Switzerland
Match Officials:
Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden).
Assistant Referee 1: Mathias Klasenius (Sweden).
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Warnmark (Sweden).
Fourth Official: Syein Oddvar Moen (Norway)
