Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka believes his manne know how to knock Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal out of the World Cup.
Ahead of tonight’s 9pm last-16 clash at the Lusail Iconic Stadium, the familiar foes are preparing for a third meeting this year. So far both have a win, with Portugal beating Switzerland 4-0 and the Swiss returning the favour 1-0 in the second of their June Uefa Nations League group-stage matches.
Going back to 2016, they met a further three times with Portugal leading 2-1 in their head-to-head clashes.
The final act of the #FIFAWorldCup Round of 16 🎬
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Morocco face a tough task against Spain 💥
Portugal and Switzerland lock horns in a tasty encounter 🍿
But with a solitary Haris Seferovic goal claiming the bragging rights in their most recent clash, Arsenal star Xhaka reckons they can stun Portugal’s groot name tonight.
With striker Breel Embolo (two goals) and midfielders Xherdan Shaqiri and Remo Freuler hitting form, Xhaka says: “We seem to have faced them a lot in recent years – they’re a very dangerous team and we can’t afford to make any mistakes against them.
“We’ve got it in us to shake up some of the really big teams.”
While he is having a quiet tournament, with just a penalty in a 3-2 group-stage win over Ghana, one man the Swiss will want to shut down is Ronaldo.
𝐇![CDATA[]]>𝐈![CDATA[]]>𝐒![CDATA[]]>𝐓![CDATA[]]>𝐎![CDATA[]]>𝐑![CDATA[]]>𝐘 𝐌![CDATA[]]>𝐀![CDATA[]]>𝐃![CDATA[]]>𝐄! 🆕
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Cristiano Ronaldo becomes the first player to score at FIVE different editions of the tournament
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The last three times they faced the goal machine, the 37-year-old has plundered five goals - including a hattrick.
But with none of his 118 international strikes coming the World Cup knockout stages, the Swiss will hope to frustrate him more.