Despite a lack of goals, Switzerland and Poland both finished second (and undefeated) in their respective groups behind Euro 2016 favorites France and Germany. The two nations, who have boasted terrific defenses so far in the tournament, now kick off the Euro 2016 round of 16. Who will be the first to book a spot in the last eight of the Euros? Read on below for our complete preview of this intriguing matchup.
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Switzerland vs. Poland Preview
Where: Stade Geoffroy-Guichard – Saint-Etienne, France
When: Saturday, June 25, 9:00 AM ET
Line: Switzerland +195 vs. Poland +138, tie +185; total: 2.0 – view all Euro 2016 lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on Switzerland (+195)
Switzerland didn’t win many style points after three fairly boring group games which saw just three goals in total. But credit to them, they came away from the group stage undefeated and conceded just one goal, which came from a penalty against Romania.
The big problem for the Swiss is they just haven’t had that cutting edge in front of goal. Xherdan Shaqiri hasn’t provided a creative spark consistently enough, while misfiring striker Haris Seferovic has no goals to show for his seven shots.
But with Poland also having similar issues scoring goals at the moment, Switzerland has a good chance to keep another clean sheet and, possibly, take yet another round of 16 match past 90 minutes.
Each of Switzerland’s last two knockout games in a major tournament have gone to extra time, which they ultimately lost. They went down on penalties after a 0-0 draw with Ukraine in the 2006 World Cup, and lost 1-0 after extra time to Argentina in the 2014 World Cup.
Betting on Poland (+138)
After scoring 33 goals during qualifying, Poland’s goals have now gone dry. They finished with just two goals in three group games, and have now scored more than one goal just once in their seven games this calendar year.
A 0-0 draw against Germany was an understandable result, but they were guilty of missing some very good chances in that game. They were also sorely lacking in creativity in their final group game, a narrow 1-0 win against bottom team Ukraine.
Star striker Robert Lewandowski, qualifying’s top marksman with 13 goals, just hasn’t been at his best in the tournament. Not only has he not scored, he hasn’t even registered a single shot on target in three games.
Still, Lewandowski and strike partner Arkadiusz Milik are the two most dangerous attacking players on either team, and will be the two players most capable of getting a goal.
Meanwhile, the struggling Swiss attack will find things difficult against an impressive Polish defense which has yet to concede a single goal in the tournament. Michal Pazdan and Kamil Glik have been rock solid at the heart of the Polish defense, with Grzegorz Krychowiak their shield in midfield.
Writer’s Predicion
Poland (+138) has the superior offensive weapons, and they find a way to win the game within 90 minutes.
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