Switzerland and Ecuador stumbled in their opening World Cup matches, suffering gut-wrenching defeats to Japan and Cameroon, respectively. They will look to get their Group C campaigns back on track when they lock horns this coming Friday in a critical showdown at BC Place Stadium.
Who will emerge victorious in this battle between cellar-dwellers? Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this pivotal soccer match and while you’re at it, you can check out our previews of USA vs. Sweden and Canada vs. New Zealand.
Switzerland’s World Cup stint is off to a disappointing start after absorbing a 1-0 defeat at the hands of defending champion Japan on Monday. An Aya Miyami penalty in the 29th minute was enough for the Japanese to take all three points and send Switzerland to the bottom of the group standings.
[sc:Soccer240banner ]What made the loss so frustrating for the Swiss was that they dominated the Japanese in terms of possession in this match. Switzerland held 55% of the possession in the group opener but could not find a way to trouble the Japanese defense. Switzerland was outshot by Japan, 15-13.
The onus is on Lara Dickenmann and Ramona Bachmann to provide the spark for the Swiss attack. Dickenmann created a number of chances for Switzerland on the left flank but was unable to deliver that killer ball against the Japanese. The same also goes for Bachmann who had several quality runs on goal in the second half but was extremely unlucky not to find the back of the net.
Dickenmann has been a prolific striker for the Swiss national team, scoring 40 goals in 99 national caps. Bachmann, on the other hand, has 33 goals in 61 appearances for Switzerland.
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Betting on Ecuador
Joining Switzerland at the bottom of Group C is Ecuador which lost 6-0 to Cameroon in its opening group match on Monday. The Ecuadorians simply had no answer for Gaelle Enganamouit who recorded a stunning hat-trick for Cameroon in this blowout defeat.
It was an embarrassing performance from Ecuador, which was outmatched by Cameroon in every facet of the game. The Ecuadorians only had 47% of the possession in the group opener and were outshot by the Cameroonians by a whopping 25-7 margin. The Les Lionnes also had an incredible 14-2 advantage in the shots on target department.
Ecuador’s task against Switzerland will be doubly harder as it will face the European side without its captain Ligia Moreira. She will be suspended for that do-or-die clash after she picked up a red card in the 66th minute against Cameroon. With Moreira out, it’s crucial for goalkeeper Shirley Berruz to be solid between the posts for Ecuador. The 24-year-old recorded eight saves for Ecuador in its opening match against the African giants.
