The Swiss have the players available to harm the French. However, on the basis of their performance against Ecuador, they can definitely trouble the French but not quite defeat them. Two aspects key to their performance will be confidence and counterattacks.
As far as confidence is concered, the Swiss did show some to come back from 1-0 down to win 2-1 in their opener. Also, the Swiss showed true courage in springing a late counterattack almost immediately after Ecuador had failed to double their tally at the opposite end. They were rewarded for taking risks late on in the game thanks to Haris Seferovic's header.
The Swiss could have taken more risks during normal time but did not do so. Xherdan Shaqiri, their star man, was guilty of not doing so on a few occasions; Shaqiri sometimes preferred a safe horizontal pass to a risky vertical pass. The talented midfielder has of course only returned recently from injury and did nto feature for large parts of the club campaign for Bayern.
The Swiss will obviously not be able to play an open game against the French. Their best chances will likely come on counterattacks as a result. Ottmar Hitzfeld must set up his team to counterattack with great speed. Valon Behrami was very useful in this regard against Ecuador. He sprung the counterattack which led to Seferovic's winner for example. Hitzfeld has to decide which striker might be best suited to such an approach.
The obvious answer would be Seferovic due to his late winner. But Seferovic might be more useful as an impact substitute rather than a starter. Josip Drmic did not have the best of days as a starter against Ecuador. Handing the role to a striker who has spent the whole season battling relegation with his club, Freiburg, in the Bundesliga might be Hitzfeld's best option. Admir Mehmedi, the substitute who scored the equalizer against Ecuador, might be the man for the job.
Will these two factors be the main ones for Switzerland against France? Let us know your thoughts.
