Switzerland vs Colombia – Match preview and team news | OneFootball

BC Place Vancouver hosts a World Cup last-16 tie on Tuesday evening as Switzerland take on Colombia, with a place in the quarter-finals against Argentina or Egypt on the line.

Switzerland arrive having won three consecutive matches after a surprise opening draw with Qatar — their first World Cup knockout victory in 88 years, against Algeria in the last 32, showed a team growing in confidence with each passing game.

Colombia come in unbeaten in five World Cup matches, having topped Group K ahead of Portugal and beaten Ghana 1–0 in the last 32. Their only previous meeting at a World Cup ended 2–0 to Colombia, at the 1994 group stage in the United States. It is only the fifth-ever encounter between the two nations.

Switzerland vs Colombia – Match preview and team news

Team news

Switzerland

Murat Yakin faces the most significant team news of Switzerland’s tournament. Johan Manzambi, Rubén Vargas and Djibril Sow all left training early on Monday ahead of this fixture, with the team providing no specific details. Yakin told reporters: “If they might not play tomorrow, it can be a huge issue for us.” Medical examinations were scheduled for Monday afternoon, with a decision to follow.

Michel Aebischer and Luca Jaquez are also doubtful with muscle injuries and have been training individually. If Manzambi and Vargas are unavailable, Yakin has Fabian Rieder and Christian Fassnacht as cover options in the attacking midfield area, with Dan Ndoye and Breel Embolo still providing the core of the attack.

Colombia

Jhon Córdoba is ruled out for the remainder of the tournament after suffering a hamstring injury in the opening minutes of the Ghana match. Luis Suárez, the Sporting Lisbon striker, came on as his replacement and assisted the only goal, earning himself a starting role on Tuesday.

James Rodríguez was forced off at half-time against Ghana, but is not under any injury threat and is expected to start. No other concerns have been reported. Néstor Lorenzo is expected to name an unchanged XI with Suárez the only alteration.

Form

Switzerland

Yakin’s side have been one of the tournament’s most improved teams as it has progressed. An opening 1–1 draw against Qatar, where they were pegged back late, initially prompted doubts. They then thrashed Bosnia-Herzegovina 4–1 in a dramatic finish, with five goals scored after the 74th minute, the performance transformed by substitutes Manzambi and Vargas, who both started every match since.

A 2–1 win over Canada and a 2–0 defeat of Algeria in the last 32 have followed, the latter representing Switzerland’s first World Cup knockout victory since beating Germany in 1938. Manzambi’s emergence has been the tournament story of the group stage — the 20-year-old Freiburg midfielder has three goals and two assists, making him the youngest player to register five goal involvements at a World Cup since records began.

Colombia

Lorenzo’s side have been quietly one of the most complete teams in the tournament. They opened with a 3–1 win over Uzbekistan, beat DR Congo 1–0, drew goallessly with Portugal in a match they arguably deserved to win — Davinson Sánchez’s stoppage-time header was controversially ruled out by VAR — and then beat Ghana 1–0 in the last 32.

Colombia have kept clean sheets in three of their four matches, conceding only once across the whole tournament. They have registered 20 or more shots in each of their last three World Cup matches — the last side to achieve that in four successive World Cup games was France in 1998. Luis Díaz of Bayern Munich has been the standout individual, and Colombia arrive as slight favourites.

Predicted lineups

Switzerland predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Kobel; Zakaria, Elvedi, Akanji, Rodriguez; Xhaka, Freuler; Ndoye, Manzambi, Vargas; Embolo

Colombia predicted XI (4-3-3): Vargas; Muñoz, Sánchez, Lucumí, Mojica; Lerma, Arias, Puerta; Rodríguez, Suárez, Díaz

How to watch Switzerland vs Colombia?

The match will be broadcast live in the United Kingdom on ITV1 and ITVX.

Read more – Delap keen to fight for place at Chelsea despite transfer talk

See Also- Amorim says AC Milan ‘bigger’ challenge than Man United job

Follow the Football Faithful on Social Media:

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | TikTok