• Sweden and Switzerland are scoreless in the first half of this World Cup knockout game.
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How to watch: In the U.S., Fox and Telemundo have the broadcast at 10 a.m., but you can stream it here.
24’: Switzerland Wastes Chance
Switzerland finds Steven Zuber in the box, but he doesn’t get a good head on it and floats one over the bar.
23’: Sweden Pressing
After a series of passes, Switzerland winds up 50 yards back of where it started. Sweden is pressing on the ball all over the pitch.
19’: Sweden Defense Holds
Switzerland manages to get the ball in the box again, but Sweden’s defense has been very well organized and is foiling the best Swiss efforts.
Andrew Das: It’s not too early to say this game could use a goal to open it up. These teams will be cautious by nature, knowing a rare trip to the quarterfinals is there for the taking as long as they don’t do something dumb and throw it away. But the longer this stays scoreless, the more cagey it might become. One goal blows it up thought. Then everybody on the losing team has to press.
15’: Back and Forth
A good passing sequence for Sweden ends with Lustig shanking a ball sideways straight to Switzerland. On the other end, Shaqiri’s cross is too high for Josip Drmic. Both sides have had chances early, but Sweden’s have been more threatening.
Sweden v Switzerland: a game straight out European Championship qualifying, an attendance straight out of Italia 90.
— Rory Smith (@RorySmith) July 3, 2018
13’: Switzerland Attack Collected
Xherden Shaqiri with a nice through ball to Dzemaili, who can’t quite reach it. Sweden goalkeeper Robin Olsen collects.
10’: Sweden Getting Chances
Another blast over the bar for Sweden. It’s Berg again, but his shot is blocked. Ekdal rushes in to get the rebound but sends one into the stands. Switzerland has left itself a little open at the back in the last couple of minutes.
9’: Misfire for Sweden
Sweden break for goal and Marcus Berg is behind the defense! But his shot is atrocious.
8’: Another Shot for Switzerland Handled
Zuber of Switzerland with a nice dribble and a curling shot, but the keeper is right there.
7’: Forsberg Probing
Emil Forsberg sends a ball through the Switzerland defense but there’s nobody on the other end of that one. Goal kick.
5’: Switzerland the Better Side Early
Switzerland has had the better of the early touches, but both sides are far from stamping any authority on the match yet.
4’: Free Kick for Sweden
Switzerland’s Blerim Dzemaili draws an early whistle from referee Damir Skomina. Free kick for Sweden.
1’: Shaqiri Fires First
Sweden starts by passing it back and Lindelof simply falls over, losing the ball! A quick chance for Switzerland results in a long-range Xherdan Shaqiri shot that goes well wide.
Andrew Das: Nothing says scary moment in a knockout game than a Sweden defender slipping, falling, and turning the ball over in the first minute. Nothing says ‘scoreless tie coming’ than Switzerland wasting the chance with a 25-yard shot 10 yards wide.
Kickoff!
Classic colors today: Sweden in yellow, Switzerland in red.
The Man in Charge
Damir Skomina of Slovenia will be the referee. Skomina also worked the Colombia-Japan and England-Belgium games during the group stage.
Switzerland’s Starting Lineup
Goalkeeper: 1 Yann Sommer (Borussia Monchengladbach)
Defenders: 5 Manuel Akanji (Borussia Dortmund), 20 Johan Djourou (Antalyaspor), 6 Michael Lang (Basel), 13 Ricardo Rodriguez (Milan)
Midfielders: 11 Valon Behrami (Udinese), 15 Blerim Dzemaili (Bologna), 23 Xherdan Shaqiri (Stoke City), 10 Granit Xhaka (Arsenal), 14 Steven Zuber (1899 Hoffenheim)
Forward: 19 Josip Drmic (Borussia Monchengladbach)
Sweden’s Starting Lineup
Goalkeeper: 1 Robin Olsen (Copenhagen)
Defenders: 2 Mikael Lustig (Celtic), 3 Victor Lindelof (Manchester United), 4 Andreas Granqvist (Krasnador), 6 Ludwig Augustinsson (Werder Bremen)
Midfielders: 8 Albin Ekdal (Hamburg), 10 Emil Forsberg (RB Leipzig), 13 Gustav Svensson (Seattle Sounders), 17 Viktor Claesson (Krasnador)
Forwards: 9 Marcus Berg (Al Ain), 20 Ola Toivonen (Toulouse)
Watch the Captains
Switzerland’s leader is Granit Xhaka, who has played in 65 games for his country. Sweden looks to Andreas Granqvist, who is playing in his 75th internationa game. Both captains have already scored in this World Cup.
Sweden vs. Switzerland: The History
These teams have played each other many times over the years, but not since 2002 and not in a competitive match since 1995.
Playing From Behind
How will these teams fare if they fall behind today? Switzerland came from behind to draw Brazil and beat Serbia (it then blew two leads against Costa Rica). Sweden, well we don’t really know. It has trailed for only a few seconds in this Cup, the moments between when Germany scored in the 95th minute and the whistle blew.
World Cup Longshots
These teams started as longshots to win the Cup: Switzerland was 175-1 and Sweden 400-1. Their success in reaching the round of 16 has lowered those odds, though they are still outsiders: Switzerland is 50-1 and Sweden 75-1. In a couple of hours one of those prices will get even shorter.
#SWESUI // #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/tjzsix2OLQ
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) July 3, 2018
Sweden vs. Switzerland: How They Got Here
Both these teams qualified for the World Cup through the second-chance playoffs after finishing second in their groups. Sweden finished behind France, which has advanced to the quarterfinals, while Switzerland was edged by Portugal, which ... ooops.
Sweden vs. Switzerland Top Story Lines
• Sweden beat South Korea, lost to Germany, then drilled Mexico, 3-0, to advance. Its leading goal-scorer is Andreas Granqvist, a 33-year-old defender who is the team’s captain. Both of his two goals were penalties. Granqvist’s wife is due to give birth any day now in Sweden.
• After scoring goals in the Serbia game, Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri made double eagle gestures, an allusion to the Albanian flag. The gesture was seen as provocative because Xhaka and Shaqiri have roots in Kosovo, an ethnically Albanian province that fought a war of independence against Serb-dominated Yugoslav forces in the late 1990s. They were fined, and the gestures did not return against Costa Rica.
• One of these teams will be going into recently uncharted regions. Sweden made the semifinals in the 1994 World Cup in the United States, but hasn’t been past the round of 16 since. Switzerland hasn’t advanced further than this since its home World Cup in 1954.
• Sweden’s Emil Forsberg has a dubious distinction: He has six shots off target, tied for the most at the Cup. (He does have two shots on target as well as four blocked shots.)
• Switzerland showed its mettle in a come-from-behind draw with Brazil, then beat Serbia (again from behind), before a draw with Costa Rica. Five players share the team’s five goals.
• Sebastian Larsson will be missing for Sweden through injury. Stephan Lichtsteiner and Fabian Schar are suspended for Switzerland.
• Bookmakers consider this game a close one, but Switzerland is a slight favorite.
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