Euro: QF: Switzerland v Spain, 7/2/2021

[Savi]

Venue: Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg
Kickoff: 12:00 EST, 18:00 CET

Switzerland
- Group A 3rd place (1-1-1)
- Tied

Wales 1-1
- Lost

Italy 0-3
- Beat

Turkey 3-1
- R16

eliminated France 3-3 (5-4 pens.)
- Top goalscorer: Haris Seferovic - 3

Spain
- Group E runner-up (1-0-2)
- Tied

Sweden 0-0
- Tied

Poland 1-1
- Beat

Slovakia 5-0
- R16

eliminated Croatia 5-3 A.E.T.
- Top goalscorers: Alvaro Morata, Pablo Sarabia, Ferran Torres - 2

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[N o o d l e s]

Gotta pick Spain here. Boy they have to feel fortunate

 

[SwissLeaf]

2-1 for us.

Greece 2004 = Switzerland 2021!!!

 

[Rob]

Swiss will be missing Xhaka.

 

[BruinLVGA]

No Xhaka.

On the other hand, winning without him would be even sweeter.

Channel the spirit of the team that beat Spain at the 2010 World Cup, please!

 

[cgf]

Hoping Zakaria has the match of his life

 

[Maestro84]

Should be Spain but then again we said the same about the France match...the Swiss also pulled off a major upset against that legendary Spanish team back in 2010 so maybe that gives them some precedent and confidence

 

[Speyer]

There are a few factors beyond the average quality of the two teams that are against Switzerland. Firstly making it to the quarter finals was a huge goal for this generation of Swiss players for the last 9 years and now that they finally reached it in such dramatic fashion i am not sure how much hunger remains. I just hope they dont see this as a bonus game. Secondly Spain has had its problems in the tournament but seems to be getting better as the tournament goes along. They may not have the raw talent the French had but team composition and chemistry seems harmonic, especially since Moratta is finding the back of the net now. It also seems they are not underestimating Switerland wich is often sort of a precondition for the underdog to win such asymetrical games. Thirdly we are missing Xhaka and I dont think Zakaria or Sow can replace him. Freuler who hasnt lived up to expectations yet will need to play a hell of a game to balance out the loss of the Captain at least partially.

 

[gary69]

Good thing for Spain is, at least when it comes to penalties, that Sergio Ramos isn't here as he missed two penalties in last year's draw in the Nations League match against Swiss (1-1 draw with a late Gerard Moreno equalizer).

 

[cgf]

There are a few factors beyond the average quality of the two teams that are against Switzerland. Firstly making it to the quarter finals was a huge goal for this generation of Swiss players for the last 9 years and now that they finally reached it in such dramatic fashion i am not sure how much hunger remains. I just hope they dont see this as a bonus game. Secondly Spain has had its problems in the tournament but seems to be getting better as the tournament goes along. They may not have the raw talent the French had but team composition and chemistry seems harmonic, especially since Moratta is finding the back of the net now. It also seems they are not underestimating Switerland wich is often sort of a precondition for the underdog to win such asymetrical games. Thirdly we are missing Xhaka and I dont think Zakaria or Sow can replace him. Freuler who hasnt lived up to expectations yet will need to play a hell of a game to balance out the loss of the Captain at least partially.

As someone who has seen a lot of both at Gladbach, Zakaria is more gifted than Xhaka. Not just a (massively) superior athlete, he's a better dribbler who is much more press-resistant. He's not as experienced and he may not be as much of a leader for you, but just on the pitch, he should be better if he's been integrated into the side.

Plus Freuler has had a lot of the same issues that Gundogan & Goretzka had for us since Xhaka isn't much more mobile than Kroos. So getting paired with Zakaria instead should help him do better, as he won't have to devote as much energy to doing the running for his more stationary midfield partner.

 

[Eisen]

I have a feeling this Swiss team can make it. Their spirit is strong. Xhaka might be important for the team to gel and he had many contacts, people have been looking for him, but he didn't have that moment of genius against France. Xhaka in France form is technically replaceable.

 

[TheGreenTBer]

I just have this feeling that if the Swiss win this game, they're winning the entire tournament.

 

[Mitch nylander]

Going with Spain 2-1, not sure if Zakaria will be able to replicate Xhaka's performance.

 

[cgf]

I have a feeling this Swiss team can make it. Their spirit is strong. Xhaka might be important for the team to gel and he had many contacts, people have been looking for him, but he didn't have that moment of genius against France. Xhaka in France form is technically replaceable.

I feel the same way I did before the france game, if they bring their A-game they can cause Spain problems. And if Spain don't respond to that with their best, they could well go out.

Though this spanish team feels hungrier than did france, and I think their pressing could cause the swiss issues that France was unable to, I do still like the swiss' chances.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

Spain looked good vs Slovakia and Croatia..two teams which really haven't looked great at this tournament. I think Switzerland can be offensively more dynamic than those teams. Zuber has been great for them (a candidate for team of the tournament). But not sure how well they do defensively which of course always plays a big role vs Spain. Switzerland need to strike a fine balance here as I don't think that sitting back for 90 minutes suits them.

 

[Blender]

I'm really hoping for a Swiss upset here.

 

[Speyer]

As someone who has seen a lot of both at Gladbach, Zakaria is more gifted than Xhaka. Not just a (massively) superior athlete, he's a better dribbler who is much more press-resistant. He's not as experienced and he may not be as much of a leader for you, but just on the pitch, he should be better if he's been integrated into the side.

Plus Freuler has had a lot of the same issues that Gundogan & Goretzka had for us since Xhaka isn't much more mobile than Kroos. So getting paired with Zakaria instead should help him do better, as he won't have to devote as much energy to doing the running for his more stationary midfield partner.

Zakaria has his strenghts for sure but he has also less "football iq" is worse at passing, more mistake prone and can't shoot free kicks. He is also not in great form as the second half of the last Bundesliga season has been one of the worst string of games in his career. Xhaka has his limitations for sure, but he played fantasic against the Ottomans and especially France. Zakaria might not be a lesser player than Xhaka in general but in the particular context of this tournament him coming in for Granit makes the team worse in my oppinion.

 

[cgf]

Zakaria has his strenghts for sure but he has also less "soccer iq" is worse at passing, more mistake prone and cant shoot free kicks. He is also not in great form as the socond half of the last Bundesliga stretches has been one of the worst in his career. Xhaka has his limitations for sure, but he played fantasic against the Ottomans and especially France. Zakaria might not be a lesser player than Xhaka in general but in the particular context of this tournament him coming in for Granit makes the team worse in my oppinion.

Eh...both make some spectacularly dumb mistakes, but I think Zakaria has shown better instincts than Granit did when he was with gladbach. And you're under-estimating Zakaria's passing technique if you're implying that the gap is significant. Experience is really the big point in Xhaka's favor and how much that impacts performance is always tricky to predict.


As for his club season, like with everyone else at Gladbach this season, I think it was more their lack of depth & the condensed schedule combining to sabotage them than everyone on that team just happening to be inconsistent at the same exact time. As it wasn't different players having dips at different times, it was the whole collective looking drained whenever they had to play multiple matches a week, before storming back once they had a chance to freshen up, only to run out of steam again the next time the schedule got intense. With Rose's departure getting announced being the final disspiriting nail in the coffin on their season.

 

[John Price]

The espn queen intro

 

[Speyer]

Eh...both make some spectacularly dumb mistakes, but I think Zakaria has shown better instincts than Granit did when he was with gladbach. And you're under-estimating Zakaria's passing technique if you're implying that the gap is significant. Experience is really the big point in Xhaka's favor and how much that impacts performance is always tricky to predict.


As for his club season, like with everyone else at Gladbach this season, I think it was more their lack of depth & the condensed schedule combining to sabotage them than everyone on that team just happening to be inconsistent at the same exact time. As it wasn't different players having dips at different times, it was the whole collective looking drained whenever they had to play multiple matches a week, before storming back once they had a chance to freshen up, only to run out of steam again the next time the schedule got intense. With Rose's departure getting announced being the final disspiriting nail in the coffin on their season.

Zakaria made a lot of mistakes than Xhaka in the NT in the last few years wich is the basis of my "claim". I dont really watch any PL and not that much Bundesliga so I cant really comment on their club performances. As for passing i would argue that Zakaria isnt able to make plays like Xhaka did agianst France at the last goal. To be fair Xhaka doesnt make such plays consistently either but you see it at least every no and then. Xhaka has also good pass selection and doesnt make as many "bad passes" as Denis. But hey I hope I am wrong and the Midfield will work better with Zakaria but I have my doubts.

 

[robertmac43]

How many hundreds of more passes to Spain finish this game with?

 

[Eisen]

Oh, that's bad luck.

 

[Speyer]

Here we go. He has just proven my point...

 

[maclean]

Hoping Zakaria has the match of his life

Perhaps not in the way he anticipated

 

[Eisen]

Here we go. He has just proven my point...

That was not a mistake. That's just plain bad luck.