Switzerland vs Spain – Predictions and Odds
On July 2, in the Euro 2020 quarter-finals, the Swiss national team in St. Petersburg will play against Spain. We can say that each team deserved to be at this stage. The Swiss were very restrained in the group stage as they made their way to the playoffs through third place with some difficulty. But in the round of 16, Vladimir Petkovic’s side delivered the main sensation of the tournament, knocking out the reigning world champions France.
Spain played on the same day as Switzerland. And also, interestingly, the match with the participation of Luis Enrique’s side turned out to be as spectacular and memorable as possible they knocked out Croatia. According to bookmakers, the favorites for this football match are Spain, but not everything is going to be that easy.
Switzerland
Switzerland were perhaps one of the main surprises at this stage of the competition. In Group A, the Swiss played against Wales, Italy and Turkey. Switzerland drew with Wales (1: 1), lost against Italy (0:3) and won against weak Turkey (3:1). This was enough to reach the Euro 2020 playoffs from third place with 4 points.
Miracles began in the round of 16 where the formidable French team, by the way, the reigning world champion and reigning vice-champion of Europe, awaited Switzerland. The latter, however, managed to score rather quickly in the 15th minute with the efforts of Seferovic, but in the second half the French took over the game and by the 75th minute were leading with a score of 3:1 thanks to a double by Karim Benzema and a goal from Paul Pogba. And then something happened that no one could have expected Seferovic in the 81st minute reduced the gap to a minimum, and Gavranovic moved the game into extra time in the 90th minute.
France, already mentally celebrating reaching the quarter-finals, could not score more, and everything came to the penalty shootout. All the players of both teams were accurate. All except the 22-year-old French striker Kylian Mbappe, who missed the decisive penalty.
A devastating blow for Switzerland is the absence of Granit Xhaka the captain, leader and charismatic player of the team. He will miss the match because of the yellow cards and that significantly weakens Switzerland’s chances.
Spain
At this tournament, the Spaniards struggled for the first matches. In their first game in Group E, the Spaniards were unable to crack the defense of Sweden. This was followed by a draw against Poland (1:1) and only by the third match the Spanish team got better. The Slovak national team suffered and Spain advanced to the next stage with a 5:0 wing.
But in the round of 16, the Spanish team staged a goal shootout against Croatia. Croatia opened the scoring in the 20th minute, thanks to the horrific own goal, but after that, the Spaniards took the lead 3:1. Croatia, though, found the strength to win back, thanks to goals from Orsic and Pasalic. But in extra time, Spain did not wait for the penalty shootout and regained their two-goal advantage thanks to the precise shots of Morata and Oyarzabal.
The only doubt for this match is Jose Gaya because of the injury. Otherwise, Spain will have an optimal lineup to face the opponent.
Statistical facts
- The teams played 22 matches between themselves, and Spain have an advantage: 16 wins, 1 defeat, 5 draws;
- Spain have an advantage in official games: 4 wins, 1 defeat, 2 draws;
- The rivals did not meet at the Euro, but played at the World Cup: 2 victories of Spain, 1 victory of Switzerland;
- The only victory over Spain (1:0) the Swiss managed to claim in the first round of the group stage of the 2010 World Cup, which overall ended with Spain winning the tournament;
- 14 goals were scored in the round of 16 of Euro 2020 with the participation of Spain and Switzerland;
- The Spanish national team reached the playoffs from second place, Switzerland from third;
- Switzerland have never played the European Championship quarter-finals.
Betting Tips
Switzerland and Spain will meet in a tense match where everything can be decided by a single goal. In this encounter we think that Spain are favorites and can predict the following events:
- Spain to Win;
- Under 2.5 Goals.
Check out the 1xBet sportsbook that gives the best odds for this match with a decent bet market as well.
Spain to Win
The Spanish national team is not without problems but reached the quarter-finals and one can hardly say that Furia Roja are undeservedly here. The Spaniards know how to improve during the match, which has been shown more than once at the tournament. They are clearly superior to Switzerland in class and are considered favorites for a reason. In a match against France, Switzerland performed a miracle, but a lot of energy was given there, and objectively Spain are stronger today. The Spaniards under the leadership of Luis Enrique are on a completely different level. Besides, Granit Xhaka will also miss the game, which will give Switzerland a headache.
Under 2.5 Goals
The Spanish national team has scored eight goals in the last two matches, but it hardly makes sense to count on such performance today. Switzerland defends much better than Slovakia and Croatia and their attention will clearly be on defending, so Spain will have to try hard to open up this defense. I do not expect a lot of goals in this match at some point, Spain might score only 1 goal and squeeze the advantage until the end. Spain themselves are also good at defending and won’t allow chances to Switzerland.
Is It Spain’s Chance to Win the Tournament Once Again?
Spain have already won the tournament twice back in 2008 and 2012, but right now there is a completely different situation. They do not have Xavi, Iniesta, Sergio Ramos and other prominent players from that golden generation. However the elimination of France, the Netherlands, Portugal increases the chances for Luis Enrique’s side to advance to the finals. If they advance, they will meet the winner between Belgium and Italy and probably this match will decide a lot of things. In this match, though, I do not think that Spain will have problems moving to the next round.
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