After a glance at their FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, we can see that Sweden once again arrive as underdogs, and the players know it. It’s a situation they’ve come not only to accept but enjoy. The defence will once again be key, but scoring three goals against Mexico was an important display of just how effective and dangerous they can be. The team is harmonious, going into the match with nothing to lose and their desire to keep the World Cup journey alive is huge.
The Swiss have made a habit of starting badly in their matches so far, so the very last thing they will want is for that trend to continue against Sweden. They know that Sweden will bring physical strength, so they will want to dominate the game right from the start. It will be interesting to see if Lang and Djourou slot seamlessly into the back four to cover for their suspended team-mates.
Overview
These two nations have faced each other 27 times, although their most recent meeting was back in 2002. Each side has ten victories against the other.
Sweden will be looking to reach the quarter-finals of a World Cup for the first time since 1994, when they finished 3rd in the tournament. Switzerland’s last appearance in the quarter-finals was back in 1954 when they hosted the tournament.
Switzerland finished as runners-up in Group E, winning one and drawing two of their games.
Vladimir Petkovic’s side followed up their impressive 1-1 draw with Brazil by beating Serbia 2-1 in dramatic fashion. The Swiss drew 2-2 against Costa Rica in their final match, with Blerim Dzemaili and Josip Drmic getting on the scoresheet. Goalkeeper Yann Sommer scored a 93rd-minute own goal.
Sweden progressed to the last 16 as surprise winners of Group F. Janne Andersson’s side won two and lost one of their three matches, finishing above Mexico, South Korea and Germany.
After their heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Germany, Sweden responded in style with a convincing 3-0 win over Mexico to close out their group campaign. Ludwig Augustinsson and Andreas Granqvist both scored in the win.
Granqvist has scored two goals at the tournament so far – both from the penalty spot. No player from either side has scored more than one heading into Tuesday’s match.
The winners of the match will meet Colombia or England in the last eight. Those two sides face each other in Moscow later in the day.
Head to Head
Despite meeting 29 times in the last 98 years, with the Swiss edging the record with 11 wins to ten, this is the first time the sides have ever met at a major international competition.
Sweden
- Sweden have kept a clean sheet in 6 of their last 8 matches (FIFA World Cup).
- It’s 24 years since Sweden found themselves in the last eight, on the way to a bronze medal at USA 1994, while the Swiss haven’t seen a FIFA World Cup quarter-final since 1954, when they were the hosts.
- Sweden are unbeaten in their last three games against Switzerland (W1 D2) although their last encounter was in March 2002 (1-1). The Swiss’ last victory came in October 1994 in a Euro qualifier in Bern (4-2), it was under Roy Hodgson.
- Since finishing as runners-up on home soil in 1958, Sweden have progressed past the second round of the World Cup on only one occasion, it was in 1994 when they finished third.
- Sweden have never won back to back World Cup matches outside of their own country – they did so twice in 1958 as host nation but haven’t accomplished it in any of their other 11 tournaments including this one.
- This will be Sweden’s 50th game at the World Cup, becoming the 11th team to reach that tally. Only Mexico have featured in more games without ever winning the tournament.
Switzerland
- Switzerland are undefeated in 16 of their last 17 matches (FIFA World Cup).
- Switzerland last made it to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in 1954 when the tournament was held on home soil. Since then, they have always been knocked out whenever they’ve reached the round of 16 (1994, 2006, 2014), not scoring a single goal in any of those three games.
- Switzerland have lost only one of their last 25 games (W17 D7), that came against Portugal in October 2017 (0-2).
- 11 of Switzerland’s last 14 goals at the World Cup have been scored in the second-half, including four out of five at this year’s tournament.
- Between them, Emil Forsberg and Marcus Berg have had 21 of Sweden’s 37 shots at the 2018 World Cup (57%) without scoring any of them.
- Stephan Lichtsteiner will be suspended for this round of 16 game against Sweden. Up until now, the Swiss captain had only missed 25 minutes out of the 1590 played by his team at major tournaments since Euro 2008.
- Since Switzerland reached the quarter-finals at World Cup 1954, Xherdan Shaqiri is the only Swiss player to have scored in the knockout stages of a major tournament. It was at Euro 2016 against Poland.
Players to Watch
Sweden
Emil Forsberg.
The 26-year-old winger is an impressive, speedy and clinical player who will see the ball plenty. He’s done well at Red Bull Leipzig since his move from Malmo in 2013 and already has 36 caps with the national team. He’ll be counted on as the creator in attack.
Switzerland
Defender Ricardo Rodriguez.
The former Wolfsburg man earned a big money move to Milan tihs past summer and at 25 years of age, he’s one of the veterans of the squad. He’s got speed, defends with patience and strength but can also contribute in the final third.
Probable Line-Up
Squads
Sweden
Goalkeepers: Robin Olsen (FC Copenhagen), Karl-Johan Johnsson (Guingamp), Kristoffer Nordfeldt (Swansea City).
Defenders: Mikael Lustig (Celtic), Victor Nilsson-Lindelof (Manchester United), Andreas Granqvist (Krasnodar), Martin Olsson (Swansea City), Ludwig Augustinsson (Werder Bremen), Filip Helander (Bologna), Pontus Jansson (Leeds United), Emil Krafth (Bologna).
Midfielders: Emil Forsberg (RB Leipzig), Albin Ekdal (Hamburg), Viktor Claesson (Krasnodar), Gustav Svensson (Seattle Sounders), Sebastian Larsson (Hull City), Jimmy Durmaz (Toulouse), Oscar Hiljemark (Genoa), Marcus Rohden (Crotone).
Forwards: Marcus Berg (Al Ain), Ola Toivonen (Toulouse), John Guidetti (Celta Vigo), Isaac Kiese-Thelin (Waasland-Beveren).
Switzerland
Goalkeepers: Roman Burki (Borussia Dortmund), Gregor Kobel (Hoffenheim), Yvon Mvogo (RB Leipzig), Yann Sommer (Borussia Monchengladbach)
Defenders: Manuel Akanji (Borussia Dortmund), Johan Djourou (Antalyaspor), Nico Elvedi (Borussia Monchengladbach), Michael Lang (FC Basel), Stephan Lichtsteiner (Juventus), Jacques-Francois Moubandje (Toulouse), Ricardo Rodriguez (AC Milan), Fabian Schaer (Deportivo La Coruna), Silvan Widmer (Udinese)
Midfielders: Valon Behrami (Udinese), Blerim Dzemaili (Bologna), Edimilson Fernandes (West Ham), Gelson Fernandes (Eintracht), Remo Freuler (Atlanta), Xherdan Shaqiri (Stoke City, Granit Xhaka (Arsenal), Steven Zuber (Hoffenheim), Denis Zakaria (Borussia Monchengladbach)
Forwards: Josip Drmic (Borussia Monchengladbach), Breel Embolo (Schalke), Mario Gavranovic (Dinamo Zagreb), Haris Seferovic (Benfica)