Ottmar Hitzfeld was clear on Switzerland’s potential should they emerge unscathed from Group E. “Then there are no limits,” said the 65-year-old, before slipping into reverse this week and insisting no European team could win a World Cup in South America. That is some limitation and while, Hitzfeld is not expected to defy history in Brazil, his team will have no European inferiority complex against Ecuador on Sunday.
Switzerland start their campaign in Brasília having lost only once in 18 games in the past two years and with a squad comprising several talents that have impressed in Uefa youth tournaments in recent years. One, 22-year-old Xherdan Shaqiri, may be monitored more closely by Liverpool supporters since it emerged Brendan Rodgers wants to capitalise on the versatile forward’s frustrations at Bayern Munich.
“I’m not going to go through another year like this,” said Shaqiri when asked of Liverpool’s interest. “If not much changes then I will have to change something. I am only disappointed because I have played less. I want to play in the big games from the beginning and not just in the league when everything is already clear. I want to play at a top club as the Champions League is important to me.”
Shaqiri blossomed at Basel but was not a regular feature under Pep Guardiola last season. His total of 20 appearances for Bayern included only 10 starts, albeit with six goals scored, and Rodgers is keen to pursue a deal for a player who can make an impact across the front line. Shaqiri’s value to his country could not be in greater contrast.
Hitzfeld will be reliant on the Bayern forward plus his fellow Basel graduate, Borussia Monchengladbach’s Granit Xhaka, to again remind other European nations of Switzerland’s consistency on the tournament stage. They have the opportunity to do so against the least heralded of the six South American teams in Brazil, although it will not be straightforward should Ecuador find a solution to their travel problems.
The team captained by Antonio Valencia were unbeaten in eight matches at home in Quito when qualifying above Uruguay for the World Cup but did not win once away from home. Defensively they can self-destruct, and lost an important shield this week when Segundo Castillo was withdrawn from the squad with a knee injury suffered in the warm-up defeat by Mexico.
Group E has been described as progress for France plus one other. This game in Brasilia could have a major influence on who.