Switzerland vs Spain: preview and betting tips

On Friday, 2 July, the quarter-final programme of this year’s European Football Championship will be played at the Gazprom Arena in St Petersburg. And in this first match, the teams that experienced a real shootout in the eight finals will meet. And one big surprise.

The paper predicted that Spain would face a much more flamboyant France. But, perhaps thanks to some in-cabin wrangling, they fell to Switzerland on penalties. Moreover, the last penalty was not given by Kylian Mbappé, who ended an extremely unsuccessful championship.

The Swiss and Spanish matches had one element that was identical for the match. That element was the equaliser from 1: 3 to 3: 3 in the last 10 minutes of the match. The Spaniards allowed themselves to be dragged into extra time against Croatia by shots from Oršić and Pašalić, while the Swiss on the other hand made up for their loss against France after shots from Seferović and Gavranović.

As in the eighth round, the Swiss will be defended as outsiders. Spain may not be putting in a dominant performance at the Euro under Luis Enrique, but they are a much more experienced team.

In addition, the Swiss will miss captain Granit Xhaka, who will not be allowed to play in the quarterfinals due to yellow cards. It was Xhaka who was the key link in France’s defeat and there is a big question mark hanging over the midfield’s performance without the Arsenal midfielder.

The Spaniards would love to regain the European throne they held de facto between 2008 and 2015. Both last season’s finalists, France and Portugal, are already out of the picture and the Spanish should have a smoother path to the semi-finals. However, the Swiss will certainly not make it easy for them.

In total, the two teams have met in 8 matches between them, of which the Spaniards have won 4 times, the Swiss once and the footballers from the “Land of the Helvetic Cross” have won 3 times.

In the three matches at the big events, the Spaniards have won twice and the Swiss once. But this is the first time they have met at the European Championships. And it’s going to be a Spanish qualification.