Teams
Switzerland had few troubles in their qualification campaign as they topped Group B ahead of Kosovo. They were unbeaten in their six matches and conceded only two goals to make it through to their thirteenth tournament. Its the sixth straight time that they have qualified for the World Cup, and in four of their last five campaigns, they made it out of the group stages, only to be kicked out at the next round. They will be relieved that they wont need to face Brazil in the group stages as they have done in the last two tournaments, and in fact, are the highest ranked nation in their group according to the FIFA Rankings.
San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, Santa Clara, California
BC Place Vancouver, Vancouver, British Colombia
Considering only one nation scored fewer goals than Switzerland out of all the group winners in European qualification, the Swiss will likely need to rely on their sturdy defence to progress. If they get past the round of 16, they will have reached a feat they havent managed to since they hosted the tournament in 1954. 30 year old Akanji has been on loan at Inter Milan from Manchester City this season and even contributed a goal in qualification.