Switzerland, workmanlike and quietly efficient. A chance to make the last 8

ThisDrinkingLife and The World Cup: Switzerland

Switzerland remind me of a mini Germany, and apologies if that offends any Swiss readers. But they 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 real battle for the Swiss in group E will be against their near neighbors to the west, France. I can see the Swiss frustrating the French forward line, keeping the game tight, and snatching a late victory.

The other two teams in the group, Honduras and Ecuador, the Swiss should have no problem disposing of. 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.

If they can top the group, and I predict they will, then they could play either Nigeria or Bosnia in the next round. I’d fancy the Swiss to dispatch both of these teams. But if all goes to plan, the Germans would be up next. That would a great European derby game, but you would imagine that the Germans would come out on top over their Swiss neighbors.

Switzerland. Good chance to get to the last eight, which would be a great achievement for a team with no obvious world class stars.