On Saturday-evening, Switzerland and Iceland take it in Sankt Gallen for their first game in the Uefa Nations League. Do the Swiss confirm their solid home reputation?
Switzerland:
Switzerland survived a group in Russia with Brazil, Serbia and Costa Rica. A nice 5 out of 9 was achieved. In the second round they went down against Sweden without mercy, it became 1-0. A pitiful end to a very decent campaign. In the Uefa Nations League is outside of Iceland, also Belgium in the group. So they can crawl in the role of underdog. Nevertheless, the Swiss are certainly not without a chance. The last loss in their own country dates from May 2016. It was then … the Belgians who won 1-2 in a friendly game in preparation for the European Championship in France.
The team of the Swiss still has a nice mix of quality and experience. Unfortunately, it was never able to shave high tops in a big tournament. In the defense, Lichtsteiner (Arsenal)), Djourou (Spal and ex-Arsenal), Rodriguez (AC Milan) and Schär (Newcastle) account for more than 250 caps. Xhaka (Arsenal) is the man who has to keep the engine going in the midfield. Shaqiri, who exchanged Stoke City for Liverpool after a good World Cup, must provide flashy actions. At the front, Seferovic and Embolo have two firm strikers, but they do miss the real torinstinct.
Iceland:
It may have been said, football has put Iceland on the map in recent years. After the stunt at the European Championship 2016 in France, they could also qualify for the World Championship in Russia. They turned out to be too small in a group with Argentina, Nigeria and Croatia. In the group phase they were sent back home with 1 out of 9.
The strength of Iceland is undoubtedly the unyielding mentality and the fact that the team has been playing together for several years. Again, few changes have been made to the selection. The spearhead of the team is still playmaker Sigurdsson (Everton). Only in the attack we see a noticeable absentee. Finbogasson (Augsburg) was not selected due to a knee injury.
PREDICTION: Switzerland to win @ 1.65
