FIFA World Cup
World Cup 2018: Switzerland vs Costa Rica Preview
Switzerland only need a draw versus Costa Rica in their final group match, on Wednesday 2 pm ET in Nizhny. The Costa Ricans are already eliminated and will play for pride. Wanting to return home with heads high, they have not played poorly in Russia and will be disappointed to not make it further.
Background
The Swiss have been impressive so far, showing grit in both group games but especially in their draw with Brazil. However, offensively they have not been as intimidating and coach Petkovic will be hoping his team can score early against Costa Rica. Star winger Shaqiri met fan’s expectations by burying a difficult late goal against Serbia. effectually making the Swiss favorites to progress. Despite their opponents sitting bottom of the group, they know Óscar Ramírez’s squad were semi-finalists in Brazil last time.
‘Los Ticos’ are unfortunate to have zero points after two matches. Led by experienced captain Ruiz, they display the same level of quality that saw them top their group in the 2014 World Cup. The Central Americans sit bottom of group E without a single goal. This, in spite of holding Brazil scoreless for 90 minutes and a narrow loss to Serbia. Four years ago, the Central Americans eliminated England and Italy with keeper Navas impressing. Similarly this time, the Real Madrid keeper has kept scorelines closer than deserved, but cannot score the goals needed.
Predicted Lineups
Switzerland: Yann Sommer; Stephan Lichtsteiner, Fabian Schar, Manuel Akanji, Ricardo Rodriguez; Valon Behrami, Granit Xhaka; Xherdan Shaqiri, Blerim Dzemaili, Steven Zuber; Mario Gavranovic
Costa Rica: Keylor Navas; Johnny Acosta, Giancarlo Gonzalez, Oscar Duarte, Bryan Oviedo, Cristian Gamboa; Celso Borges, David Guzman, Bryan Ruiz, Christian Bolanos; Marco Urena
Prediction
In two previous meetings, Switzerland have won both, albeit neither were in the World Cup. For the Costa Ricans, the harsh truth is that this is not 2014. The Swiss have displayed defensive resilience and the Central Americans have yet to score. Only needing a draw, it would be difficult to see Switzerland conceding to a team with nothing but pride to play for. Additionally, the Europeans have never lost to a side from CONCACAF. Expect the trend to continue.
Switzerland 1 – 0 Costa Rica
