There is virtually no reason for Switzerland to argue about being dealt in Group E because this is probably the most accessible group at the World Cup 2014. France will cause them plenty of headaches with their plethora of offensive options, but if the Swiss defend as well as they did in the qualifying campaign, they should advance the next stage with ease. They've got a good coach in the person of Hitzfeld but they lack remarkable strikers and depend on their footballers to play as a team.
Group stage and event prospects
They were not credited with the first chance to win the group but outshined all their peers in the qualifying campaign to avoid the playoffs. Discipline and a passion for exact defense saw them through and they need to replicate that performance against better teams in Brazil. Bet365 games Switzerland odds of 1.66 to survive the group stage and 101 to 1 to win the World Cup.
Greece achieved something similar with a mediocre team and won the European championship a decade ago, but it is hard to believe that the Swiss can win in South America. This doesn't mean that they won't do their best and the group stage should provide them with the chance to attune for the elimination round. They need at least four points against Ecuador and Honduras to stay in the game, but they are exactly the kind of team that can cause a major upset against France.
Key players for Switzerland at the World Cup
Hitzfeld has been in this position before and he knows that despite lacking remarkable players, much can be achieved by a disciplined squad. If his team survives the groups and is eliminated in the quarterfinals, he will receive a hero's welcome when he returns home. Obviously, the Swiss with keep the dream alive and hope that they can make the semifinals, six decades after making their deepest run at a World Cup.
Shaqiri is of the most important players for the Europeans, because despite his age he accumulated a lot of experience playing at Bayern Munich. He won the German championship and made a deep run in the Champions League, while playing complete games more than once against top opponents. He is not among the favorites to score the most goals for his team, with Drmic being the one credited with the first chance and the 67 to 1 by Bet365.
Against Honduras and Ecuador, the superior experience of Shaqiri and the likes of Barnetta can prove decisive, and under the right circumstances, the eclectic mix of young and veteran players could work. Seferovic and Stocker are two other strikers that Hitzfeld can rely two, with the former spearheading the offense, with the latter playing alongside Shaqiri. It is not very likely to see all three of them on the pitch at the same time, but they are likely to feature in the game against Honduras.
The bottom line
Switzerland is not exactly a perennial favorite to win the World Cup, but this time the expectations are relatively high regarding the group stage. With a coach as experienced as Hitzfeld at the helm and a fairly easy group, the Swiss are expected to make it to the elimination round. Pressure is a double-edged sword, because on one hand it can motivate players to do their best, on the other it can crush them. Punters would be wise to stay away from the odds of 1.66 for Switzerland to survive the group stage and better take a leap of faith with Bet365's odds of 3.75 for them to win the group, purely for value reasons.
