There was a stark warning for Switzerland as Serbia found their shooting boots with a 5-1 friendly win versus Bolivia last week, the Group E rivals likely to fight it out for the second qualifying spot as Brazil are favourites to top the table and Costa Rica expected to drop out. Newcastle striker Aleksandar Mitrovic fired in a hat-trick for The Eagles in that aforementioned match, however the Swiss are still struggling for firepower despite having plenty of experience in their squad.
It was down to AC Milan full-back Ricardo Rodriguez to provide a goal in both a credible 1-1 draw with Spain and a 2-0 victory versus Japan in their warm-up friendlies, Switzerland with limited options up-front. After just four goals in 20 appearances at domestic level for striker Hans Seferovic at Benfica, the 26-year-old added the second versus Japan, however the question is whether his contribution will be enough to see Switzerland come through a tough group.
In 51 senior appearances for his national side, Seferovic has scored just 12 times, three of those in friendly matches, three in international qualifiers and just one in major tournaments. That strike was the winner versus Ecuador in World Cup 2014, however the striker drew a blank throughout Euro 2016 despite his four appearances.
After having finished UEFA qualifying group B equal on points with Portugal with 27 from 10 matches, it came down to goal difference as to who would advance automatically and of course, Switzerland lagged well behind in this respect. La Nati fired in 23 times as opposed to their rivals’ tally of 32, sending them into a playoff with Northern Ireland.
A 1-0 win in the first leg was enough to see them earn a place in Russia this summer, however Seferovic was booed by supporters after having missed a number of easy chances in a second leg encounter that finished 0-0. “It was a pity,” lamented Coach Vladimir Petkovic in response to the noisy disapproval. “We should learn some things from the Northern Irish fans. But now I do not want to incite arguments, just to enjoy the moment that we are definitely in Russia.”
If the usual striker doesn’t quite meet the standard, what other options does Petkovic have? Josip Drmic may be a better choice to lead the line, however has only played 463 minutes of football in the Bundesliga. Rusty he may be, however the 25-year-old has fired in four times in his four starting appearances this term and may be worth a punt to shake things up.
21-year-old Breel Embolo has played more football than Drmic this term, having made nine starts for Schalke this season. In that time, the striker has found the net three times but remains a raw talent with unpredictable form to go with it.
Perhaps this side’s best chance is to look to Xherdan Shaqiri to provide that touch of quality from further back, especially as the 26-year-old will be looking to impress in order to attract a move away from newly-relegated Stoke City. All these options undoubtedly have their positives, however it is safe to say that none guarantee the goals for Switzerland.
The crunch match for second place looks likely to be in the second round when Switzerland will take on Serbia, however, they will need to muster more than two shots on target, the figure registered when they took on Japan last week.
