World Cup 2018: 5 Swiss players to look out for

#2 Granit Xhaka

The midfielder had an injury scare just a few weeks before World Cup started

The Arsenal midfielder struggled in his first Premier League season, where fans started to question his price tag. After learning from his mistakes, Xhaka emerged as one of the more reliable players in the Gunners’ horrible 2017/18 season. The natural left-footer is extremely accurate with his long passes. This can be crucial in helping the Swiss transition from defence to attack, and vice versa.

Earlier, the 25-year-old suffered an injury scare during one of the training sessions. Fortunately, the Swiss suffered only a bone bruise and is fit for the competition. Despite not taking part in the match against Spain, he played the full 90 minutes against Japan, which proves that he is fit to play for his country in the group stage.

The 25-year-old has an average pass accuracy of 87% in the Premier League and his average pass length is a high of 19m. Undoubtedly, he is one of the most talented midfielders in England and has lots of potential in the Swiss national team. There is no reason why Xhaka will be left out of the starting eleven given his abilities and strengths.

Xhaka made his international debut in 2011 and this will be his second time playing in the World Cup. Although his statistics for the national team is not particularly impressive, he is a regular starter under coach Vladimir Petković. Xhaka's ability to accurately spot his team-mates from a deep-lying midfield position will certainly make his play an eye-catching performance.

There are high expectations of him and his country could be counting on him to be influential in the midfield. The battle against Brazil's talented midfield will be an interesting one to watch.