The following is a match centre with betting tips for the 2018 FIFA World Cup round of 16 fixture between Sweden and Switzerland. The game kicks off on the 4th of July at 12:00 AM AEST. It will be broadcast live on SBS.
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Sweden
- FIFA World Rank: 24
- Elo Rating: 20
- Qualifying: Runners up in Group A with a 6-1-3 record in the UEFA Confederation qualification. Defeated Italy 1-0 on aggregate in the UEFA Second Round playoffs.
Squad:
- Coach: Janne Andersson
- Goalkeepers: Robin Olsen (Copenhagen), Karl-Johan Johnsson (Guingamp), Kristoffer Nordfeldt (Swansea)
- Defenders: Mikael Lustig (Celtic), Victor Lindelof (Manchester United), Andreas Granqvist (Krasnador), Martin Olsson (Swansea), Ludwig Augustinsson (Werder Bremen), Filip Helander, Emil Krafth (both Bologna), Pontus Jansson (Leeds United)
- Midfielders: Sebastian Larsson (Hull), Albin Ekdal (Hamburg), Emil Forsberg (RB Leipzig), Gustav Svensson (Seattle Sounders), Oscar Hiljemark (Genoa), Viktor Claesson (Krasnador), Marcus Rohden (Crotone), Jimmy Durmaz (Toulouse)
- Forwards: Marcus Berg (Al Ain), John Guidetti (Alaves), Ola Toivonen (Toulouse), Isaac Kiese Thelin (Waasland-Beveren)
Recent results:
- Mexico 0 – 3 Sweden
27/06/2018
FIFA World Cup, played in Russia - Germany 2 – 1 Sweden
23/06/2018
FIFA World Cup, played in Russia - Sweden 1 – 0 South Korea
18/06/2018
FIFA World Cup, played in Russia - Sweden 0 – 0 Peru
09/06/2018
Friendly, played in Sweden - Sweden 0 – 0 Denmark
02/06/2018
Friendly, played in Sweden - Romania 1 – 0 Sweden
27/03/2018
Friendly, played in Romania - Sweden 1 – 2 Chile
24/03/2018
Friendly, played in Sweden - Denmark 0 – 1 Sweden
11/01/2018
Friendly, played in the UAE - Estonia 1 – 1 Sweden
07/01/2018
Friendly, played in the UAE - Italy 0 – 0 Sweden
13/11/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Italy - Sweden 1 – 0 Italy
10/11/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Sweden - Netherlands 2 – 0 Sweden
10/10/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Netherlands
Statistics: (last four years):
- H2H Record: 22-15-14
- O/U record
- O/U 0.5 record: 46-5
- O/U 1.5 record: 36-15
- O/U 2.5 record: 20-31
- O/U 3.5 record: 9-42
- O/U 4.5 record: 4-47
- O/U 5.5 record: 1-50
- Wins
- Total wins: 22
- Won by 1 goal: 7
- Won by 2 goals: 8
- Won by 3 goals: 4
- Won by 4 goals: 2
- Won by 5 goals: 0
- Won by 5+ goals: 1
- Won to nil 17
- Losses
- Total losses: 14
- Lost by 1 goal: 12
- Lost by 2 goals: 1
- Lost by 3 goals: 1
- Lost by 4 goals: 0
- Lost by 5 goals: 0
- Lost by 5+ goals: 0
- Lost to nil 7
- Clean Sheets and BTTS
- Total Games: 51
- Clean Sheets: 22
- Held Scoreless: 12
- Both Teams Scored: 22
Switzerland
- FIFA World Rank: 6
- Elo Rating: 14
- Qualifying: Runners up in Group B with a 9-0-1 record in the UEFA Confederation qualification. Defeated Northern Ireland 1-0 on aggregate in the UEFA Second Round playoffs.
Squad:
- Coach: Vladimir Petković (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
- Goalkeepers: Roman Buerki (Borussia Dortmund), Yvon Mvogo (RB Leipzig) and Yann Sommer (VfL Borussia M'gladbach)
- Defenders: Manuel Akanji (Borussia Dortmund), Johan Djourou (Antalyaspor AS), Nico Elvedi (Borussia M'gladbach), Michael Lang (FC Basel), Stephan Lichtsteiner (Juventus), Jacques-Francois Moubandje (Toulouse), Ricardo Rodriguez (AC Milan) and Fabian Schaer (Deportiv
- Midfielders: Valon Behrami (Udinese), Xherdan Shaqiri (Stoke City), Granit Xhaka (Arsenal), Blerim Dzemaili (Bologna), Gelson Fernandes (Eintracht Frankfurt), Remo Freuler (Atalanta), Denis Zakaria (Borussia M'gladbach) and Steven Zuber (Hoffenheim)
- Forwards: Josip Drmic (Borussia M'gladbach), Breel Embolo (Schalke, Mario Gavranovic(Dinamo Zagreb), Haris Seferovic (Benfica)
Recent results:
- Switzerland 2 – 2 Costa Rica
27/06/2018
FIFA World Cup, played in Russia - Serbia 1 – 2 Switzerland
22/06/2018
FIFA World Cup, played in Russia - Brazil 1 – 1 Switzerland
17/06/2018
FIFA World Cup, played in Russia - Switzerland 2 – 0 Japan
08/06/2018
Friendly, played in Switzerland - Spain 1 – 1 Switzerland
03/06/2018
Friendly, played in Spain - Switzerland 6 – 0 Panama
27/03/2018
Friendly, played in Switzerland - Greece 0 – 1 Switzerland
23/03/2018
Friendly, played in Greece - Switzerland 0 – 0 Northern Ireland
12/11/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Switzerland - Northern Ireland 0 – 1 Switzerland
09/11/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Northern Ireland - Portugal 2 – 0 Switzerland
10/10/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Portugal - Switzerland 5 – 2 Hungary
07/10/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Switzerland - Latvia 0 – 3 Switzerland
03/09/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Latvia
Statistics: (last four years):
- H2H Record: 26-8-8
- O/U record
- O/U 0.5 record: 40-2
- O/U 1.5 record: 32-10
- O/U 2.5 record: 19-23
- O/U 3.5 record: 9-33
- O/U 4.5 record: 6-36
- O/U 5.5 record: 3-39
- Wins
- Total wins: 26
- Won by 1 goal: 13
- Won by 2 goals: 4
- Won by 3 goals: 5
- Won by 4 goals: 2
- Won by 5 goals: 0
- Won by 5+ goals: 2
- Won to nil 18
- Losses
- Total losses: 8
- Lost by 1 goal: 4
- Lost by 2 goals: 4
- Lost by 3 goals: 0
- Lost by 4 goals: 0
- Lost by 5 goals: 0
- Lost by 5+ goals: 0
- Lost to nil 6
- Clean Sheets and BTTS
- Total Games: 42
- Clean Sheets: 20
- Held Scoreless: 8
- Both Teams Scored: 16
Commentary
Sweden qualified as the winners of Group F following a commanding 3-0 win over Mexico. The strong performance has quickly erased memories of their disappointing 2-1 defeat to Germany, which featured a last-minute German goal. Prior to that Sweden had defeated South Korea 1-0 whilst denying South Korea even a single shot on target. This tournament Sweden have been well organised, which as made them difficult to break down. They have also been dangerous on the counter attack and they play a combative style of football. The only blemish was they conceded too many free kicks against Germany and gave possession away too cheaply. They were far more clinical against Mexico, however, and now enter the Round of 16 full of confidence. Sweden qualified for this tournament at the expense of the Netherlands and Italy, and their progression has made it clear those results were no fluke. In team news, midfielder Sebastian Larsson is suspended for accumulating two yellow cards.
Switzerland reached the Round of 16 as the runners up in Group E. They began their campaign by coming from behind to secure a 1-1 draw against Brazil. They came from behind again to beat Serbia 2-1, with Xherdan Shaqiri scoring after a stunning solo effort in the 90th minute. Switzerland then drew Costa Rica 2-2, with each side scoring after the 88th minute. Switzerland have lost just 1 of their last 25 fixtures (17-7-1 record), with their sole defeat coming against Portugal during qualifying. The Swiss have scored at least once in 6 of their last 7 World Cup games, scoring 12 goals in those 7 matches. In team news, they will be without defenders Fabian Schar and captain Stephan Lichtsteiner, who are serving one-game bans for accumulated yellow cards. Lichtsteiner’s absence will hurt. The Swiss captain has only missed 25 minutes for his team at major tournaments since Euro 2008.
Betting
bet365 odds (subject to change):
Compare the latest bookmaker odds for Sweden vs. Switzerland
Head-to-head history isn’t too helpful, with the only 21st century meetings between the two coming in 2001 and 2002. Switzerland will be hoping to improve on their recent World Cup knockout record. They last reached the round of 16 in 1994, 2006 and 2014, and fell out of the tournament in all three tournaments, while failing to score a goal. An interesting stat for Switzerland is that 11 of their last 14 goals at the World Cup have been scored in the second-half, including 4 out of their 5 at this year’s tournament.
Betting tip: given their imperious record of avoiding defeat, I will back Switzerland +0.5 in the Asian handicap at 1.44 (Betfair). With a 0-0 halftime score quite likely, I would also consider the halftime draw at 1.86 (Unibet).
Notes
- FIFA World rankings are from the 7th of June and sourced from https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/men/index.html
- The World Football Elo Ratings are from the 11th of June and are based on the Elo rating system, developed by Dr. Arpad Elo. This system is used by the international chess federation to rate chess players and is considered by many to be a superior rating tool to the one used by FIFA. The ratings have been sourced from https://www.eloratings.net/.
- Squad lists sourced from http://www.skysports.com/football/news/12098/11374464/every-world-cup-squad-listed-argentina-brazil-russia-and-more