Tag Archives: Swiss

Swiss look to roll over Czechs

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Stuart Pearce’s Young Lions crashed out of the European Under-21 Championship on Sunday evening but the show must go on in Denmark, and there are two semi-final encounters on Wednesday as the much-fancied Spanish face Belarus while a closer contest is anticipated with Switzerland up against the Czech Republic.

Switzerland v Czech Republic (8pm)

The Swiss (4/1 Outright) have stormed to the last four of the tournament this year after winning Group A with a 100% record, while they are also yet to concede a goal so far – only the second side to get this far without conceding after France in 2007.

Pierluigi Tami’s side have not only been strong defensively, but they have also improved at the opposite end of the field after starting with a 1-0 win against the hosts Denmark, before beating Iceland 2-0 and finishing in style with a 3-0 victory against fellow semi-finalists Belarus.

The likes of Xerdhan Shaqiri and Innocent Emeghara, who featured in a recent Euro 2012 qualifier against England at Wembley, have stood out in the Swiss ranks.

However FC Zurich defender Philippe Koch has highlighted the side’s excellent team spirit and quality from goalkeeper Yans Sommer right through to the forwards.

He said: “At the start of the tournament, no one would have counted on us qualifying with such style. We’re not surprised.

“We knew before the tournament that we had quality. So far, we’ve been able to show that quality in our matches.”

Granit Xhaka is suspended for the Swiss as they look to reach their first final at Under-21 level having lost to France on home soil at this stage in 2002, but they will take heart that they kept clean sheets in the group phase of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in 2009 and the UEFA European Under-17 Championship in 2002 and went on to win both tournaments.

The Czech Republic will feel they have their name on the trophy this year (6/1 Outright) as they were on the verge of going out at the group stage on Sunday when trailing England 1-0 with just two minutes remaining.

But goals from substitutes Jan Chramosta and Tomas Pekhart sent them through in second place behind Spain and condemned England to an early flight home.

The omens are on the Czechs’ side too as the only other time the Swiss reached the semi-finals, in 2002, they went on to win the tournament at the expense of France on penalties, ironically in Switzerland.

The Czech Republic bounced back from an opening game defeat against Spain to see off Ukraine and England and will hope to continue their momentum in the Swiss encounter.

However, they have been practising penalties and could be preparing for a long night.

Looking at the form of the two sides going into the clash it is hard to see past the Swiss to edge into the final for the first time, although it could be a close affair.

Prediction: Swiss To Win 1-0 Correct Score @ 11/2

Spain v Belarus (6pm)

On paper this clash in Viborg looks a foregone conclusion as Group B winners Spain are odds-on 2/5 favourites for the tournament, while Belarus scraped through to the semi-finals behind Switzerland on just three points ahead of Iceland and hosts Denmark.

The Spanish did drop points against England, but defeated the Czech Republic and Ukraine in the group stages, while Belarus go into the match on Wednesday on the back of a 3-0 thumping against the Swiss.

Spain have Adrian Lopez leading the way for the Golden Boot on three goals, Juan Mata is one behind, while coach Luis Milla is poised to name another unchanged line-up as Cesar Azpilicueta is set to shake off a thigh injury suffered in training.

Belarus, who are the first team since Serbia and Montenegro in 2006 to progress to the semi-finals with three points, are boosted by the return of Sergei Politevich and Nikita Bukatkin after they served suspensions against Switzerland. But Sergei Matveychik will miss the semi-final after his dismissal in the final Group A game.

Belarus did hold Spain to a 1-1 draw in a friendly in March, but with a place in the final up for grabs on this occasion it would be a real shock if the Spanish do not win handsomely.

Prediction: Spain To Win 3-0 @ 5/1

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Fabio keen to avoid Swiss miss

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England boss Fabio Capello is expected to name his strongest possible team for Saturday’s Euro 2012 qualifier against Switzerland at Wembley on Saturday.

The Three Lions are the current leaders of Group G but they are level on points with Montenegro, who host Bulgaria on the same day, and Capello is keen to wrap up qualification as soon as possible.

However, star striker Wayne Rooney is suspended and Andy Carroll is sidelined, meaning Aston Villa’s Darren Bent is the most likely candidate to lead the line.

Villa may have struggled throughout the 2010/2011 season but Bent has been in fine form, scoring 11 goals since his January switch to the Midlands club.

Bent is 8/11 to score at anytime, while the former Sunderland man is a much more attractive 10/3 to open the scoring or 9/2 to grab a brace.

England are the heavy 1/3 favourites, with Switzerland 8/1 and the draw 7/2, but the Swiss are a well organised side and they could make things difficult for Fabio Capello’s men.  In the Half-Time/Full-Time market a draw/England result is priced at 3/1.

Switzerland may be well organised and relatively strong at the back but their attacking options are limited and lack any real threat going forward.

Capello is also expected to name a back-four of Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole, Glen Johnson and John Terry for the tie at Wembley.  On paper, and according to the majority of pundits, that is England’s strongest defensive combination and they should be able to keep a clean sheet.

An England clean sheet is priced at 10/11, which is worth some consideration, but England are 11/10 to win to nil and this may be the better option of the two bets.

Rooney’s likely replacement is Theo Walcott, with James Milner or Adam Johnson the other possibilities and the Arsenal winger tends to impress on the international stage.  Walcott is also keen to impress Capello after missing out on the 2010 World Cup and the 22-year-old is 7/4 to score at anytime in the match.

Switzerland’s most likely goalscorer, if they do manage to break England’s resolve, is Bayer Leverkusen striker Eren Derdiyok. Coach Ottmar Hitzfeld has chosen uncapped duo Innocent Emeghara, 22, and Admir Mehmedi, 20, as his other forward options and it remains to be seen if they will be able to rise to the occasion.

Derdiyok does not have an outstanding pedigree in terms of international goals but he is a talented striker and can be backed at 10/3 to score at anytime, or 11/1 to score the last goal.  Derdiyok’s Leverkusen team-mate Tranquillo Barnetta could be another option as an anytime goalscorer and the 26-year-old winger is 9/2 to score at anytime.

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Gerrard wary of mean Swiss

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England captain Steven Gerrard has warned fans not to expect a goal rush against Switzerland in Basle on Tuesday night (Switzerland 16/5 – To Keep A Clean Sheet).

The Three Lions move on from the 4-0 hammering of Bulgaria at Wembley in the opening game of the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign by taking on the stingy Swiss.

Ottmar Hitzfeld’s men set a new record at the World Cup for minutes played without conceding a goal – 559 – which beat the previous best of 550 minutes set by Italy.

Switzerland also rolled over eventual world champions Spain in their opening group game although they still failed to get into the second phase after a defeat to Chile and a draw with Honduras.

Gerrard admits he has personally run the rule over the Swiss and says England must be patient as they look for chances later.

The Liverpool star said: “They’re a top side. Defensively they’re very good. We’ll be watching more tapes of them before the game.

“I followed them really closely in the World Cup because we were linked with a player called (Gokhan) Inler with the rumours that (Javier) Mascherano was supposed to be leaving Liverpool.

“They’ll be difficult to break down. I liked Inler, thought he was good, but I don’t control what players we sign.”

While the Swiss are mean at the back, lack of goals was their problem in the summer while they only scored more than two goals on one occasion during World Cup qualifying – against minnows Luxembourg – in 10 games.

In contrast, England scored 34 times during qualification for the 2010 World Cup finals although the feel-good factor around Fabio Capello’s side evaporated during a dreadful campaign in South Africa.

Capello is looking forward, though, and admits he is delighted to have unearthed the strike partnership of Wayne Rooney and Jermain Defoe (England 4/7 – To Score First Goal).

The Italian said: “Sometimes over the course of a season it is like players have a chemical moment. I can see that in them now.

“Against Bulgaria, Defoe’s movement was fantastic and Rooney’s passing was fantastic.

“Rooney has played in a lot of different positions, left wing in the Champions League, as a lone centre-forward and in midfield.

“On Friday I asked him to play just in front of their two central defenders.

“He had a lot of possession, was free to move around the pitch and was really good with the ball at his feet.

“He is so technically strong his passing was excellent.”

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Rooney makes Swiss trip

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England striker Wayne Rooney will be available for selection against Switzerland in Tuesday night’s Euro 2012 qualifier in Basle (Switzerland 10/3, draw 5/2, England 5/6 – 90 minutes).

The Manchester United forward has travelled with the rest of the squad despite strong allegations over his private life being made in the Sunday tabloids.

Speculation suggesting Rooney might pull out has proven to be unfounded and he is set to partner hat-trick Jermain Defoe up front against the notoriously stingy Swiss defence.

Coach Fabio Capello will be delighted to call on Rooney’s services as he looks to take another step towards restoring the feel-good factor around the national side (Rooney 4/1 – First Goalscorer).

The Italian is already without Peter Crouch and Bobby Zamora while Emile Heskey retired from international football after the World Cup.

Capello also has Carlton Cole and Darren Bent at his disposal in Switzerland although both are still feeling their way on to the big stage and their lack of experience would have been a worry without Rooney.

But one player whose lack of experience will not count against him is Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart.

Capello admits he was forced to bring the 23-year-old back down to earth after his debut in a friendly two summers ago which explains his lack of action in South Africa a couple of months ago.

“He probably started to play in the first XI too early,” said Capello. “He started to think ‘I am the best’.

“You have to understand what happens in the mind of the young player. Sometimes it is this. But in two years he has come back.”

Capello added: “He improved a lot last year when he played at Birmingham. That was a really important period for him.

“With any young player, the most important thing is his quality. Now it is really up to him.”

Swizterland drew 0-0 with Australia in a friendly on Friday so Tuesday’s game marks the start of the qualifying campaign and coach Ottmar Hitzfeld insists Rooney remains the danger man (Switzerland 16/5 – To Keep A Clean Sheet against England).

He claimed: “Fabio Capello is not able to leave a player of his class out.

“I am no psychologist but Wayne Rooney is looking sharp and I am sure he will perform well.

“The only reason he didn’t do well in the World Cup was that he was injured beforehand and didn’t have time to make his fitness up in time for the tournament.”

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Frei confident Swiss can grab goals

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Switzerland striker Alexander FreiStriker Alexander Frei believes Switzerland are capable of meeting their goals target to qualify for the next phase of the World Cup (Switzerland 8/15, Honduras 11/2, draw 3/1).

The Swiss captain said his team, who need to win by two clear goals to make it through to the last 16, were focusing on that target.

A draw might even be enough for the Swiss, depending on the result of the game between Chile and Spain, and Frei – the country’s record goalscorer – said he was 100 per cent fit and looking forward to the final Group H match.

He said: “We practice very hard. We score goals in our training units as well. We scored two goals against Greece both in the home match and in the away match [in qualifying] so I think we have got a very good argument for scoring two goals.”

“Over the past qualification round we conceded very few goals,” he added, acknowledging the strength of the team’s defence but saying: “We can also score lots of goals. We just have to make sure we do score and we feel comfortable about that.

“All the players are hot. They want to get the second victory. They want to give a sensational performance tomorrow in order to reach the round of 16 with glory,” added Frei, who has netted 40 international goals.

Frei said it would be foolish to underestimate Spain regardless of their defeat to the Swiss.

“It would be disastrous not to look at Spain as a favourite. Just take a look at the players they have. Take a look at the football they play. I’m sure they are going to put their foot down.”

Defender Steve Von Bergen believes Switzerland can bounce back following the 1-0 defeat by Chile in Group H.

Von Bergen said: “We are angry at the moment but we are still in with a great chance, provided we beat Honduras.

“We were completely thrown by the red card against Chile. We let ourselves be pressed too far back at the start, although we went out there intending to attack. It is hard work with 10 men.”

Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld said he intends to monitor the clash between leaders Chile and European champions Spain.

Hitzfeld said: “I will be well informed about what is happening in Pretoria. It could be that I will modify my tactics depending on the score. I feel that anything can happen in that game.”

Honduras have lost both matches and Hitzfeld said: “They have moments of confusion in defence and we have to take advantage of that.”

Switzerland opened with a victory against Spain only to lose to Chile after Valon Behrami’s red card.

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