Switzerland vs Romania
The top spot in Group I is up for grabs between Switzerland and Romania here in the Euro 2024 qualifiers. Both nations have had good Euro 2024 results, as neither has suffered a loss in their first three group stage matches.
Switzerland are slightly better with three consecutive wins, whereas Romania have two wins and one draw thus far. But when these two meet in Lucerne on Monday, something has to give.
The SBOTOP Euro 2024 odds don’t offer much hope for Romania because of their sizeable gap with Switzerland in the FIFA men’s rankings. However, they are a young and hungry bunch who can prove doubters wrong.
Talking Points
Switzerland firing on all cylinders
The Swiss have their eyes firmly on the top position in an admittedly weak Group I, and so far, they’ve taken care of business.
Murat Yakin’s side dominated Belarus 5-0 in the opener last March, which was followed by a convincing 3-0 rout of Israel and a 2-1 victory over Andorra earlier today.
Another victory against Romania will put them one step closer to confirming their qualification for next year’s festivities, so they don’t want to waste time.
And the good news is that Murat Yakin doesn’t have injuries to deal with despite having notable absentees from the squad such as Breel Embolo, Silvan Widmer, and Cedric Itten.
Switzerland boast a strong midfield that can give any opponent problems, as Yakin has the likes of Granit Xhaka, Remo Freuler, Denis Zakaria, and Zeki Amdouni. Lately, it is Amdouni who has taken the spotlight, as the 22-year-old has scored in each of their last three games.
Amdouni is linked with a possible move to the Bundesliga following a productive 2022-23 campaign at Basel. He is their second-leading scorer this season with 10 goals across all competitions.
With Borussia Monchengladbach reportedly interested, his mother team, Lausanne Sport, can eventually cash in on Amdouni, especially if he continues to perform for the Swiss national team.
In case you missed it, Switzerland have an impressive aggregate tally of 10-1 in their last three games, so their defence should also take some credit.
Unlike before, Switzerland now has options for the goalkeeper position, as Gregor Kobel can give the evergreen Yann Sommer the day off from time to time, as he did against Andorra.
Romania’s undefeated start
Romania had to wait three years to try and make it back to the European championships, and they’re not taking this chance for granted this time.
The Tricolours opened their Group I campaign with consecutive wins over Andorra and Belarus, but were held to a goalless draw by Kosovo earlier today.
Edward Iordanescu’s men had seven more shots against Kosovo (16 to 9), but none of them hit the target. Kosovo should’ve actually won the game if Edon Zhegrova’s goal had not been disallowed by the VAR late in the second half.
The team could’ve used someone like Ianis Hagi, who has an eye for goal. The Rangers forward was excluded from the squad, much to the dismay of his dad, Gheorghe, who is a national team legend.
History
Matches between Switzerland and Romania have been few and far between, as this is only going to be their third-ever meeting. Their last encounter was back in Euro 2016, when Switzerland held Romania to a 1-1 draw in the group stage.
During the said tournament, Switzerland finished as one of the top two seeds in Group A, alongside France. The Swiss were eventually eliminated by Poland in the Round of 16, while Les Bleus lost to Portugal in the final with a 1-0 scoreline.
In stark contrast, Romania didn’t have much luck in Euro 2016 because they languished at the bottom of Group A with just a single point, although their losses against France and Albania were only by one goal apiece.
That was the last time the Romanians were in a European championship, as they missed out on Euro 2020 after they couldn’t make it out of Group F during the qualifiers.
Prior to Euro 2020, Romania have qualified for the finals of the competition on five previous occasions, including a quarter-finals run in 2000.
The Swiss, meanwhile, made it as far as the Euro 2020 quarter-finals, most notably beating France in the Round of 16 following Kylian Mbappe’s huge blunder in the penalty shootout. They eventually lost to Spain in the following round, also via penalties. Before their last matchup in Euro 2016, Switzerland crushed Romania 4-1 in the group stage of the 1994 World Cup before losing to them 1-0 in an international friendly 18 years later.
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