Ecuador V Switzerland World Cup 2014

Ecuador V Switzerland Fifa World Cup 2014

After match synopsis in red!!

Lets hit the bookies hard today!

Pregame bets:

Switzerland to score in both halves 3/1
Switzerland to win and both teams to score 4/1
Switzerland to win 11/8
Over 2.5 goals 5/4

Phew that was close, thank gebus for that last minute effort from Switzerland which saved the day for me, betting wise.

Full betting review here>http://thisdrinkinglife.com/top-bets-world-cup/

Beers: Group E of Beer World Cup:http://thisdrinkinglife.com/world-cup-beer-group-e/

Who is set to win the battle of the beers? Feldschlosschen Original V ? Unfortunately I couldn’t source any beer from Ecuador so this will be a one sided affair. Click on picture for a preview of the beer. Get the Feldschlosschen review afterwards.

Feldschlosschen won by default, as could not source a beer from Ecuador. Read here for full beer report

PreGame:

Switzerland are a solid rigid team, that plays exactly to form. You know that the Swiss are not going to let in many goals, will go about their work quietly, and, on their day, can beat any of the top teams, including Brazil as they have done a few months ago.

The Swiss really should have no problem disposing of Ecuador today. But having said that, Switzerland did beat Spain and drew with a very poor Honduras team in the last world up resulting in a first round elimination, so one can never tell with this team.

A key plus for the Swiss is their manager, Ottmar Hitzfeld. Born near the Swiss border, In Germany, the wily old manager is a dab hand at getting the best out of a limited team. He has made the Swiss team a very solid unit and difficult to break down.

As for the players, nothing exciting stands out, but they do have a lot of decent players who on their day can turn a game. From Xherdan Shaqiri, and Gökhan Inler in the forward line ready to pounce, with Gelson Fernandes sweeping up any loose balls, a defence marshaled by Philippe Senderos, all with one of the best goalkeepers in Europe Diego Benaglio between the sticks, its a good squad. Not exciting but not too shoddy of a team either.

Ecuador how did you qualify again? Was it Quito and the altitude? Ecuador didn’t win any of their qualfying games that were outside of their home nation! Do not know a whole lot about your squad, but you did impress in your last world cup appearance in 2006, shocking everyone to qualify for the second round.

Squad looks a little weak, with only a handful of players plying their trade in Europe. One name that does shine out though is Manchester United’s Antonio Valencia, the captain of the team. Fast and an inspiring captain for his country, Valencia must be looking forward to this world cup. At 28 he is at the peak of his footballing career, and with Ecuador in a very manageable group, he could help Ecuador get into the second round once again.

Against Switzerland, Ecuador will have to try and beat a team that doesn’t let in many goals. How will they be able to break down this rigid well set up team. Do they have the skills in midfield to open up the Swiss defence? I cant see that unfortunately.

One good stat for Ecuador is that Switzerland have never beaten South American opposition in five attempts at the World Cup, losing the last four, albeit this will first world cup meeting between the two today.

A more detailed review on Ecuador here and on Switzerland here

First question I have to ask is, whats with all the stupid haircuts on the Swiss team, They should spend more time on the training pitch rather than preening themselves, tut tut. Would love to know how long does Behrami take to do his hair?

Switzerland definitely used their get out of jail card in this game, with their late goal. Was fun all the same.

Over all though I thought they laboured, and struggled to mount any decent attack, especially in the first half.

Stocker, particularly, was awful in the first half, couldnt get in any crosses at all. Drmic who? Drmic went missing in the first half, never seen him all game.

So taken all that into account one must give Ottmar Hitzfeldt a huge amount of credit. He took off Stoker and Drmic and the two subs he brought on scored the goals and changed the game. He also changed the system to be more attacking. That’s how you manage a team, well done Ottmar.

Behrami lost the ball about a million times, very frustrating to watch but he did totally redeem himself for the winning goal. Not only did he do a last ditch tackle to prevent Ecuador taking the lead, but his persistence and cleverness in getting up quickly from the tackle resulted in the winning goal for the Swiss. All is forgiven Behrami

Hats off to the ref for letting play go, well done to that.

Whats the problem with the defender Lichtsteiner, he is a bit moany, constantly arguing about the inches that Ecuador kept gaining from free kicks. Calm down you angry young man, jeez.

Ecuador were there for the taking so the win is not a shock, but boy did it take a long time for Switzerland to get their act together. But a win is a win is a win.

Small mention to Rodriguez who was pretty good at going forward for the Swiss, and had a decent game throughout.

Ecuador were a little unlucky but they seriously dipped in the second half.

Up next for the Swiss is the French, a game where they will definitely have to up their performance if they want to get a result.

Ecuador have to play Honduras, a game that is a must win for them, but they should do with ease.

Music to get you in the mood

Gotthard V Pueblo Nuevo