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Serbia v Switzerland LIVE: Bitter rivals clash for place in World Cup last 16

talksport.com, 1 December 2022, 10:34
Serbia and Switzerland meet on Friday evening, with the winner almost guaranteed to claim a place in the last 16 of the World Cup.

These two are bitter rivals due to their past historical issues.

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And given the winner will likely make it into the World Cup knockout phase, this could turn into one of the best games of the tournament.

Switzerland know that a win will seal their place in the knockout rounds, while Serbia have to earn three points and hope Brazil don't lose to Cameroon to go through.

The Swiss have looked solid defensively in both of their opening matches and the Eagles have been better going forward, so it will be fascinating to see who comes out on top.

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Serbia v Switzerland: talkSPORT coverage

This Group G clash will take place on Friday, December 2.

The game at Stadium 974 in Ras Abu Aboud is due to kick-off at 7pm UK time.

talkSPORT 2 will have full coverage of the clash and commentary will come from Adam Bridge and Sheffield United Women's striker Courtney Sweetman-Kirk.

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Serbia v Switzerland: Squads and team news

Serbia might be without Strahinja Pavlovic after he limped off in the closing stages against Cameroon.

Juventus' Dusan Vlahovic has yet to start for Dragan Stojkovic's side but could be paired with Fulham's Aleksandar Mitrovic.

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Meanwhile, former Liverpool and Stoke City winger Xherdan Shaqiri was left on the bench as a precaution against Brazil but might be fit enough to return to the starting XI.

Serbia

Goalkeepers: Marko Dmitrovic Predrag Rajkovic, Vanja Milinkovic-Savic

Defenders: Stefan Mitrovic, Nikola Milenkovic, Strahinja Pavlovic, Milos Veljkovic, Filip Mladenovic, Strahinja Erakovic, Srdjan Babic

Midfielders: Nemanja Gudelj, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Sasa Lukic, Marko Grujic, Filip Kostic, Uros Racic, Nemanja Maksimovic, Ivan Ilic, Andrija Zivkovic, Darko Lazovic

Forwards: Dusan Tadic, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Dusan Vlahovic, Filip Duricic, Luka Jovic, Nemanja Radonji

Switzerland

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Goalkeepers: Yann Sommer, Jonas Omlin, Philipp Kohn, Gregor Kobel

Defenders: Fabian Schar, Silvan Widmer, Ricardo Rodriguez, Manuel Akanji, Eray Comert, Nico Elvedi

Midfielders: Edimilson Fernandes, Michel Aebischer, Fabian Frei, Renato Steffen, Djibril Sow, Xherdan Shaqiri, Granit Xhaka, Denis Zakaria, Ardon Jashari, Remo Freuler, Fabian Rieder

Forwards: Ruben Vargas, Haris Seferovic, Breel Embolo, Noah Okafor, Christian Fassnacht

Serbia v Switzerland: Match facts

Serbia and Switzerland met in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The Swiss came from behind to win 2-1, with Xherdan Shaqiri netting a 90th minute winning goal.

Serbia have lost their final group stage games in each of their three previous FIFA World Cup participations as an independent nation, conceding at least twice in each defeat.

A win for Switzerland will guarantee them a place in the knockout stages of the World Cup. They've not lost their final group game in any of their last four participations (W2 D2).

Following a 1-0 defeat to Brazil on MD2, Switzerland are looking to avoid losing consecutive games in the World Cup for the first time since 1994, losing to Colombia and Spain.

Serbia drew their first ever World Cup match last time out (W2 L8), with their 3-3 draw against Cameroon the first time they've ever scored as many as three goals in a single World Cup match.

Switzerland have only lost four of their last 17 World Cup group stage matches (W8 D5), though they did lose 1-0 to Brazil last time out. They haven't lost more than one group match in a tournament since 1966 (lost all three).

Five of Switzerland's six efforts at goal in their 1-0 defeat to Brazil on MD2 came in the second half, managing just one in the first half. Only three teams had fewer shots in the first halves of games across the opening two matches of the 2022 World Cup than the Swiss (4).

Aleksandar Mitrovic has scored seven goals in his last six appearances for Serbia in all competitions - he's the only player to have scored more than one World Cup goal for the nation.

The only two Switzerland players to complete 100+ passes at the 2022 World Cup are central defensive duo Manuel Akanji (124) and Nico Elvedi (131). They have also passed to one another 46 times, the most of any two outfield Swiss players.

Dusan Tadic has been involved in eight goals in his last eight games for Serbia in all competitions (2 goals, 6 assists), including an assist in Serbia's last game against Cameroon.

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