After beating Colombia on penalties, Switzerland now face their biggest challenge of the World Cup when they take on defending champions Argentina in the quarterfinals. Argentina will start as favourites, with Lionel Messi once again leading the charge. The 39-year-old has carried his side through the tournament, scoring eight goals to lead the Golden Boot race and continuing to deliver when it matters most. Even so, Argentina have shown they are far from invincible. They needed extra time to get past Cape Verde before producing a remarkable comeback from two goals down against Egypt. Those matches exposed a few cracks, and Switzerland will believe it can take advantage. While the Swiss understand the challenge of facing Messi on the biggest stage, they will also take confidence from Argentina’s recent struggles as they chase a place in the semifinals.
Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka struck a respectful but confident tone ahead of the quarterfinal against Argentina, saying his side is embracing the pressure of being so close to the last four. Xhaka also described it as a privilege to compete in the era of Messi and Ronaldo, while stressing that Switzerland would now begin a detailed analysis of the defending champions.
“When you’re this close, the hunger is even greater. It’s a very good kind of pressure we have now – we want to keep going. It must be a great privilege for us to be able to play in the Messi and [Cristiano] Ronaldo era. We haven’t been able to analyse Argentina in depth yet, but we will begin a very thorough analysis tomorrow,” Xhaka said as quoted by Nau.ch.
Switzerland forward Cedric Itten also admitted the prospect of facing Messi is one every player dreams of. While acknowledging the Argentina captain’s outstanding form, Itten said Switzerland know every knockout match is decided by fine margins and are looking forward to the quarterfinal challenge in Kansas.
“It doesn’t get much better than being able to play against Messi. He’s in good form, and we definitely need to be ready for the next game. But you can also see that every match is close – we’re looking forward to Kansas.” Itten said.
“Playing against Messi something special”
Remo Freuler said facing Lionel Messi for the first time in his career would be a special moment, but insisted Switzerland are not content with simply reaching the quarterfinals.
“I’ve never played against Messi in my career, that’s certainly something special. We deserved to reach the quarter-finals against Argentina. But one thing is clear: We won’t be satisfied with that. We’ll give it our all,” he added.
