France cruised to the top of the Group E table with a comfortable victory over Honduras in their opening game while Switzerland beat Ecuador with a spectacular finish in extra-time to clinch three valuable points. Now they are faced with a tough challenge against the French who possess a talented line-up of both young and old players. The two teams will be facing-off to decorate the top spot of their group which will confirm their entry to the Last 16 stage of the World Cup. Didier Deschamp’s attack will have a field day as they face the Swiss. Another plus for the French team is that the Swiss have not been successful in beating them since 1992.
Top Players to look out for:
Karim Benzema, only the second French player to score a brace in a World Cup since Zidane’s haul in 1998 edition’s final, will have a major role to play in finding the back of the net for his team. Antoine Griezmann, Franck Ribery’s replacement had a good game against Honduras and will hope to do the same versus a much better team. Ricardo Rodriguez, the player behind his team’s both goals will be looked upon for a similar performance.
Teams head-to-head:
The two teams have faced each other 36 times of which France has won 15 and Switzerland 12, 9 games have ended in draws.
Probable line-ups:
Switzerland (4-5-1): Benaglio; Lichtsteiner, Djourou, Von Bergen, Rodriguez; Inler, Shaqiri Behrami, Stocker, Xhaka; Drmic.
France (4-3-3): Lloris; Debuchy, Varane, Sakho, Evra; Cabaye, Matuidi, Pogba; Valbuena, Benzema, Griezmann.
Prediction:
The French team has an upper hand as compared to the Swiss and is most likely to win the game and progress to the next stage.
Final Score Prediction: France 2 – 1 Switzerland.
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