Sunday, June 15th, Switzerland vs. Ecuador at Estádio Nacional Mane Garrincha, Brasilia (5pm BST, 12pm ET)
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Day 4: Switzerland vs. Ecuador
- Thread starter gooDevil
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What a horrible looking stadium.
This could be a great game in my opinion.
Switzerland 1-1 Ecuador.
This could be a great game in my opinion.
Switzerland 1-1 Ecuador.
I couldn't find a picture I really liked that showed the city and the water. Here's some others that are closer up:
Next game up.
Valencia to smash a cross.....Into the net by a pure fluke
A very interesting game, I think Switzerland will win.
Allez!
I don't think it'll be an entertaining game at all. As of late, Hitzfeld is trying to keep the ball way too long. Problem is we don't have a creative midfielder bar Shaqiri who is out wide. Xhaka has all the skills but misses form badly, thats why many of us wanted Mehmedi (Freiburg) instead of him in that Nr. 10 role. Lacking the final pass, you'll see Inler or Xhaka trying some 30 m shots..
Switzerland will probably have a lot of posession and I really don't see them concede much. Lichtsteiner and Rodriguez can cover their flanks pretty well with Behrami as the helping hand since both are quote offensive minded. I reckon Ecuador is attacking over the wings, that fits us well. CB is more of a Problem than anything else in the Swiss team but they've done solid business as of late. Still not sure about Djourou, he can easily give you a heart attack in every third game but let's just hope we score early...
I'd say 2-0, Inler and Drmic with the goals.
Line up is set:
Benaglio
Lichtsteiner
Von Bergen
Djourou
Rodriguez
Behrami
Inler
Xhaka
Shaqiri
Drmic
Stocker
Only questions were if Mehmedi will get a chance instead of Xhaka and if Schär (CB, Basel) is back on track after his injury. Both seem not to be the case.
Switzerland will probably have a lot of posession and I really don't see them concede much. Lichtsteiner and Rodriguez can cover their flanks pretty well with Behrami as the helping hand since both are quote offensive minded. I reckon Ecuador is attacking over the wings, that fits us well. CB is more of a Problem than anything else in the Swiss team but they've done solid business as of late. Still not sure about Djourou, he can easily give you a heart attack in every third game but let's just hope we score early...
I'd say 2-0, Inler and Drmic with the goals.
Line up is set:
Benaglio
Lichtsteiner
Von Bergen
Djourou
Rodriguez
Behrami
Inler
Xhaka
Shaqiri
Drmic
Stocker
Only questions were if Mehmedi will get a chance instead of Xhaka and if Schär (CB, Basel) is back on track after his injury. Both seem not to be the case.
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If the World Cup was ever held at high-altitude Ecuador would be favorites to win. At 5000ft, or whatever Quito is, they are virtually invincible. Everywhere else they are pretty mediocre. But so are the Swiss so I expect a draw.
We have plenty of altitude en Suisse but the teams don't play at that sort of elevation, unlike Ecuador which has used it as a distinct advantage
The thread for the French game?
Some decent odds been giving on a 2-1 win to the Swiss if anyone is betting.
Not sure what bookies I saw it in though sorry
Not sure what bookies I saw it in though sorry
Will the Swiss roll over?
Weather doesn't look like it will be a factor but predictions are tough to come by in this World Cup. The Suisse are a serious side with plenty of quality and a no-nonsense coach. Failing to show up won't likely be an issue
The World Cup can finally start !
Great midfield with an inform striker (Drmic). A little bit concern with the central defence though...
Hop Suisse !
Great midfield with an inform striker (Drmic). A little bit concern with the central defence though...
Hop Suisse !
As this is the arguably the most talented Swiss side in history we should be hoping to beat Ecuador fairly clearly. But then again, it never happens as you'd expect with our national team so I think it will be a tough match and hopefully we'll be able to grind out the 3 points.
As for the starting lineup, I think Xhaka is very likely to start behind the striker as he is more favoured by Mr Hitzfeld than Mehmedi (personally I think it's beyond a joke as Xhaka's form for Mönchengladbach this season has been utterly mediocre and Mehmedi was really really good for Freiburg but who am I to question Mr Hitzfeld). It has also been mentioned that Djourou will be given the preference over Schär in central defence, which is a bit of a weak point in our lineup. These two aside I'd agree with the lineup posted above by FCBarca.
Switzerland 2-1 Ecuador.
As for the starting lineup, I think Xhaka is very likely to start behind the striker as he is more favoured by Mr Hitzfeld than Mehmedi (personally I think it's beyond a joke as Xhaka's form for Mönchengladbach this season has been utterly mediocre and Mehmedi was really really good for Freiburg but who am I to question Mr Hitzfeld). It has also been mentioned that Djourou will be given the preference over Schär in central defence, which is a bit of a weak point in our lineup. These two aside I'd agree with the lineup posted above by FCBarca.
Switzerland 2-1 Ecuador.
We are due a boring game. This is it.
I'd take a boring 1-0 all day long to be honest
I'd take a boring 1-0 all day long to be honest
It won't be Switzerland's fault, but Ecuador are a very boring team.
Don't ruin the streak Ecuador/Switzerland.
Cheers, that's pretty much verbatim my sentiments as well. Djourou will be a disaster if he's indeed going to start, an absolute weak link - I have zero confidence in him. I am not a fan of Hitzfeld either. Truth is I thought perhaps Yakin merited getting the job ahead of Petković but, surprisingly, I hear he was a problem at Basel
They are spoiled for talent but they never quite matured their strike force to the level it needed be for this WC. I think they stuck too long with Streller and failed to bring along the younger strikers - this too is on Hitzfeld, for me
I saw Ecuador completely dominating Colombia and to a lesser extent Portugal while away from home each time. They also thrashed Paraguay 4-1 and played Uruguay off the park in a 1-0 win. They're a decent side most people don't give any credit to. It seems Colombia and Chile are European fans' pets right now with Ecuador being portrayed as some kind of an uninspiring, mediocre side. I've watched a good few games from each side in the last couple of years (Ecuador/Colombia/Chile) and I can't say Ecuador have looked visibly weaker to those two. Solid team, my only qualm - not many pure match-winners if things go edgy.
Want them to win but I'd say a 1-1 draw.
Want them to win but I'd say a 1-1 draw.
Yeah they are regarded by the media as the weakest of the SA teams but they are a decent team when they're wingers are on fire. Problem is their defence can be absolutely horrible at times, they were 4-0 down to Germany last year within 20 odd mins.
Btw when did they dominate Colombia, at home they do it to most teams but on neutral ground they can be found wanting. Chucko a big miss up front too..big miss
Switzerland for me are the dark horses in this competition. I really think they'll do well.
Tony V hattrick. You heard it here first!
And probably last
And probably last
Qualifiers. Colombia won 1-0 but Ecuador should have tonked them. That's while playing away from home and with ten men since the 20th minute. Their second half performance was really good and they had a couple of strong penalty appeals.
EDIT: Agree on the defensive aspect. Their defenders seem erratic at best in the first third of games. Need to be focused from the very beginning.
Oh god not Chiles in shorts 
, anything but that!
, anything but that!I was thinking the same thing - this looks like it could be a borefest.
But saying that, it will probably end up 4-4 or something!
Rodriguez vs Valencia will be a good battle
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Who are the Key Players to watch? (besides Tony Valencia)
Exactly! People said that about Chile v Australia or Italy v England but they were both great. The way the tournaments gone so far anything could happen in this game!
Gruezo is 19, plays for Stuttgart. Don't know much about him but youth players are always one to watch. Guagua has a great name too
Feck it Valencia to score anytime 6-1 40 sheets.
Reckon with the heat and his different role for them hel ll nick one.
Reckon with the heat and his different role for them hel ll nick one.
I'd have loved the SFV giving the job to Yakin, I rate him very highly, and my guess is, in the case of Basel it was more of a player power problem with a few of the "big" names like the Degen brothers and maybe Streller and Stocker having words with the president that got him fired in the end. There were rumours the players didn't like his defensive approach, but I for one think his successes speak for itself, it's quite incredible what he managed to achieve with a Basel side often decimated by injuries and in my opinion he would have been an infinitely better choice for the national trainer job than Petković.
I share your opinion regarding our strike force but I hope this gap can be permanently closed with Drmic, who is an incredibly talented striker and still very young.
As I said, on paper this is the most talented Swiss national team in history, with various players off the back of very good seasons with their clubs (in particular Drmic, Stocker, Mehmedi and Rodriguez). It's now on Hitzfeld to get them playing like a unit. If he manages to achieve that I guess there is a good chance we'll go far in this tournament.
I will make a very boring prediction for this group
1. France 9pts
2. Switzerland 6pts
3. Ecuador 3pts
4. Honduras 0pts
1. France 9pts
2. Switzerland 6pts
3. Ecuador 3pts
4. Honduras 0pts
I hope Xhaka & Inler really shine today with Drmic finding the net a few times
It was just damage limitation really, Ecuador didn't dominate, in fact I can't remember the last time a team dominated Colombia. Ecuador away from home picked up 1 point from 8 games. Thats shocking especially in SA.
I hope Tony V plays well
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