Home of football statistics and historyWe are heading towards the second half of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar and the fans’ thrill and excitement is skyrocketing. Football lovers get to see not only good football matches between world-class national teams, but they also get to enjoy betting in its fullest, as there are so many events to choose from.
In Switzerland, things are heating up, as the national team can boast about the configuration of a squad that is anticipated to make big surprises at the upcoming matches of the Qatar World Cup. All this heat is expected to be transferred to the bet slips as well, with sports betting in Switzerland set to reach very high records.
Switzerland: an underdog?
The national team of Switzerland is not a rookie in the World Cup. And despite the fact that generally in large tournaments and football competitions, the Switzerland team are considered to be the underdogs, they have been paving their way towards success in their own standards.
Most probably, being the underdog is much owed to the fact that the Swiss national team does not feature any big, star, global football ‘brands’. There is no Lionel Messi, no Cristiano Ronaldo, no Kylian Mbappe, no Erling Haaland or Neymar in the squad of Switzerland.
But this does not, in any way, predetermine how the team is going to perform or exclude the team from those making it to the finals. On the contrary, the team’s squad and its dynamics are the basic strong points in Switzerland’s upcoming performance.
The main sources of strength for Switzerland’s performance in the World Cup 2022
In fact, one thing that Switzerland can be now proud of, is the strong bonds, the trusting relationships and high-performance culture that is shared among the football players. A culture that is entrenched to their football behaviour, that influences their determination, enhances their devotion and cultivates their skills and capabilities.
This was clearly shown in the Euro 2020 match with France – an absolute favorite and a world-crowned national team – when the Swiss squad showed consistency and commitment to get them out of the competition. France was eventually knocked out by Switzerland!
The national team of Switzerland, has nothing to be really jealous of when it comes to potentials and resources and even if they can’t name huge stars in the Swiss World Cup squad (where in fact, some of the squad members are indeed stars. Think of Granit Xhaka, Arsenal’s midfielder or Manchester City’s Manuel Akanji), they can surely list their footballers’ qualities, competencies and talents. What is critical in this squad is that they are with each other for a long time – they know each other very well, they have been preparing together and they have shared goals.
In the qualifying matches for Qatar, Switzerland were undefeated and they eventually secured their 12th World Cup participation. This was a result of what they call ‘efficient and well-drilled’ squad, which eventually translates in the field and gives the team the boost that it needs to go further.
Football analysts -and football fans as well- give much of the credit for this performance on Murat Yakin, who has – not surprisingly – stood up to the expectations. He insists on a squad, wherein the team spirit is high above the personal performance and the quality relationships between the players is much more important than their individual achievements or records. He advocates on the ‘collective’ outcome and for that manner he tries to build further upon the already strong culture of the team.
This explains much of Switzerland’s national team emphasis on defense; a squad that is aggressive when necessary but more prone and more effective in defending its ‘territory’. Keep all these in mind and don’t get carried away by what odds say about Switzerland’s road further down the World Cup 2022 in Qatar. They have so many strengths now, but they also have a rich, endless source of more strengths, that may well designate a far more successful performance for today, tomorrow and for the future!
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