Switzerland must beat Bosnia to stay alive after shock draw with Qatar at World Cup

Switzerland’s World Cup campaign is already in jeopardy after the 19th-ranked side were held to a 1-1 draw by Qatar in their Group Stage opener in Northern California, with Qatar snatching an equaliser in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time. Coach Murat Yakin’s side now face Bosnia and Herzegovina at Los Angeles Stadium on Thursday knowing that anything less than a strong result could effectively end their hopes of reaching the knockout rounds.

“I am optimistic,” Yakin said through an interpreter on Wednesday. “I trust my players. We have a seasoned team, and they know how to handle stress very well. Of course we expected a different start. We have to stay focused, but the way we played was certainly positive. We can’t buy anything with that yet, though.”

The statistics from the Qatar match made the dropped points all the more painful. Switzerland dominated possession at 68 per cent, put seven shots on target and generated chances worth 3.20 expected goals, yet their only goal came from the penalty spot. Yakin acknowledged the lesson was blunt: “The way we played was good if you look at the statistics, but it doesn’t buy you anything because we lost two points.”

Adding to the pressure are reports from Swiss media that tensions have surfaced in the dressing room, with some players reportedly unhappy at the sharp public and private criticism directed at the squad by veteran captain Granit Xhaka after the Qatar match. Midfielder Remo Freuler stopped short of confirming the reports but defended the intensity Xhaka brings.

“Yes, Granit is someone who expresses himself very freely, and he might be expressing critiques, but it is also very important,” Freuler said. “He is very open and he talks freely about those things. If you are too sensitive, then maybe football is not for you, because we have to examine these things and we have to be critical.”

Xhaka’s demanding temperament is well documented from his club career in England and Germany, but managing that edge within a tournament squad is a different challenge. Switzerland will need unity as much as quality if they are to reverse a run of seven consecutive World Cup knockout-stage defeats — a streak stretching back to a last-16 exit in 1938.

With their final group game against Canada in Vancouver to follow, Switzerland cannot afford to let the Bosnia fixture slip. Bosnia, meanwhile, arrive in Los Angeles as an overachieving side with their own points to play for and are expected to draw a strong home-crowd atmosphere given the city’s large Bosnian diaspora.