Blow by blow: Serbia vs Switzerland
Switzerland are sweating over the fitness of Valon Behrami ahead of their Group E clash against Serbia on Friday night.
Xherdan Shaqiri of Switzerland is challenged by Angel di Maria (L) and Jose Maria Basanta of Argentina during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Round of 16 match between Argentina and Switzerland at Arena de Sao Paulo on July 1, 2014 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
The holding midfielder was instrumental in the draw against Brazil as he excelled after being told to mark forward Neymar.
However, that task came at a price and he will need to pass a late fitness test in order to feature this week.
Serbia look set to name the same starting XI after they proved too much for Costa Rica during their first game of the tournament.
Friday’s clash looks set to be a decider for the second place in Group E behind the Selecao and all the attention will form around Xherdan Shaqiri and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic for either side.
A win for Serbia books their place in the knockout stage of the competition and they will look to the history books for motivation.
They have lost only twice in 13 matches against the Swiss but Shaqiri and co have proven their durability over the last few months.
A win for Switzerland would see them take a decisive step towards the last-16 and they will not be panicking despite drawing their first game.
The Helvetians have qualified from the group stages in 1938, 1994 and 2006 when only picking up a point in their first match.
For more news your way
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.
