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Since Greece pulled off a shock win at the 2004 European Championships, everyone is looking for the next big surprise in international football. Could it come at this year’s World Cup where the extreme heat of Qatar might just create a more level playing field?
One team that has gone under the radar in recent years is Switzerland. Until recently, the Swiss had been rising up the FIFA rankings but the team has failed to capitalise on their undoubted talent.
They may be seen as an ageing squad now but that age brings experience and this might be the year that Switzerland make that breakthrough.
Switzerland Ranked
Independent sources offer little hope as the Swiss are some way down the ratings for Qatar 2022. According to current betting markets, the favourites for glory this year are Brazil while other teams expected to make a challenge include England, Germany and the defending champions France.
Switzerland, meanwhile, are rated as 80/1 outsiders. Those figures are provided by betting sites in Switzerland who are linked to Sbo.net. In the weeks and months ahead, the odds are subject to change and any updates will be reflected on the website.
While studying those new prices, readers can also take in news and opinion articles while studying a host of reviews relating to each bookmaker. If they are happy to take things further, it’s also possible to register and place a bet.
Each sports betting site referenced by Sbo.net will be willing to accept new customers subject to eligibility and a new sign-up form. Once the process is complete, many will have a generous welcome offer waiting on the other side.
Funds will be needed to cover the opening bets and a range of deposit and withdrawal options can help with that. Once playing regularly, there will be a selection of other sports, in-play betting, and the potential for additional promotions.
In short, it’s the site to follow in terms of World Cup betting. Switzerland isn’t given much hope but the aim here is to find a lower-ranked team capable of causing an upset.
Main Strikers
Goals win games so who are the strikers looking to lead the Swiss into the latter stages of the tournament? The forward with the best record from within this current squad is Haris Seferovic who has found the net 25 times in 86 full appearances.
A player with a better goals-to-games ratio is Mario Gavranovic. In his first 41 full internationals for Switzerland, Gavranovic has found the net on 16 occasions.
This could be an area of concern for the Swiss and a lack of a seriously prolific centre forward may just harm their chances in Qatar. It also means that the frontmen will need some support from midfield. The highest scorer in the squad is Xerdan Shaqiri who has 26 goals from 106 games.
Naturally, many other players will have a key part to play in Qatar. Switzerland will need to keep things tight at the back and goalkeeper Yann Sommer will be busy throughout the tournament. The team will certainly need to be on top form if they are to progress through the rounds.
Key Fixtures in 2022
The bad news for Swiss supporters is that their team has been drawn in Group G, alongside pre-tournament favourites Brazil. Also involved in this section are Serbia and Cameroon.
It’s a tough section and, assuming that Switzerland was to lose to the Brazilian side, their remaining two games will be ‘must wins’. This is an immensely tricky section and it may well be one of the reasons why the Swiss are ranked as one of the outsiders to win the tournament.
If they progress, the knockout rounds await, starting with a Round of 16. In one-off games such as these, surprise results will start to occur. Much will depend on the draw of course but this is where penalty shootouts can come into play and it’s almost certain that at least one of the big-name teams will be eliminated in this fashion.
It’s going to be tough but this is a talented and experienced Switzerland side that will be hopeful of causing an upset.