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It’s hard to read the Swiss’ form after the group stage,
owing to a narrow loss to 2011 champions Japan, the formidable destruction of
hapless Ecuador and then the sluggish second-half loss to the Cameroonians.
There have been moments of brilliance, namely the nine goal second-half effort
against the Ecuadorians, mixed in with some rather ordinary showings. That
said, if on their game the Swiss can prove to be a handful for any team.
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They’ll beat Canada
because…
There is no pressure not to.
Well, there’s some, but not nearly as much as what there is for the hosts who
will have 50 000 screaming Canucks expecting fireworks. Furthermore, it’s hard
to argue with the evidence from their supreme qualifying performance, conceding
just one goal in a campaign that failed to produce a single defeat. Up front in
particular they have the quality to find the goals regularly and if they can
avoid falling into the trap of complacency that has sometimes been on show they may just be able to disappoint the partisan home crowd.
They’ll be knocked
out by Canada because…
The Canadians are at home, it’s their World Cup, and this is
the biggest football match to be played in the country probably ever. If that
doesn’t get them going, nothing will. What Canada needs to do to avoid
defeat is to maintain the early momentum they always seem to generate. If they
do that, the Swiss might be in a bit of strife.
Can they win the
World Cup?
Perhaps, but it’ll take something quite special to do so. As
one of the three remaining debutants at the tournament big-game experience is
lacking in this squad, but the emphatic statement against Ecuador in the second
half makes it clear that the Swiss can, on their day, be a force not to be taken
lightly. Will they produce that kind of display for four games in a row? It’s doubtful,
but not out of the questions.
Best moment of the
World Cup so far?
Scoring none goals in a half is a football team’s dream,
regardless of the opposition, and against Ecuador in the group stage
Switzerland did exactly that. Two second half hat-tricks – one to Fabienne Humm
and the other to Ramona Bachmann – were the pinnacle of an outstanding effort
that put all the other teams on notice. It
was 45 minutes of scintillating football, which won’t be forget by the Swiss or
their foes alike.
Key player
Ramona Bachmann is the driving force for Swiss football at
the moment, and in addition to her much celebrated hat-trick she caused plenty
of problems for Japan. If Canada gets complacent – a trait they have displayed
a few times so far – expect the pacey 24-year-old to pounce.
Injuries and
suspensions
Zero. Zilch. Zip. Nada.