A Haris Seferovic penalty miss in the first half was the highlight of the fixture as the sides failed to find a breakthrough on the night.

It was Northern Ireland goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell’s second save in as many qualification games after denying Lithuania a goal from the spot last week.

The on-loan Sheffield Wednesday keeper was the hero on the night for Ian Baraclough’s side as they held on for a draw against the UEFA Euro 2020 quarter-finalists.

Switzerland dominated possession on a night that saw a near-capacity crowd return to the Belfast stadium.

However, the effect of the crowd did help to put pressure on the visitors throughout the match.

Swiss midfielder Fabian Frei picked up an early yellow card and earning himself a suspension after strong pressing from the home team.

Northern Ireland forward Shane Lavery found himself in clean air and looked set to score but could not provide the finishing touch after fashioning space for a shot.

However, Lavery and strike partner Conor Washington, although unable to give their side a goal, looked just as dangerous as they did against Lithuania.

The hosts’ sparkle soon faded as right-back Michael Smith was judged to have brought left winger Ruben Vargas down inside the box and a penalty was given.

However, number nine Haris Seferovic fluffed his lines from 12-yards out and Peacock-Farrell denied Murat Yakin’s Swiss side a goal – they have yet to score in a competitive game (and win a competitive game) under their new manager.

Liverpool full-back Connor Bradley impressed upon his introduction after assisting Shane Ferguson’s winner against Estonia at the weekend.

Baraclough’s Northern Ireland were defensively resilient with a noisy crowd behind them all the way but lacked the end product needed to collect all three points, while Switzerland failed to break them down and will rue a missed penalty.

Both sides will face each other again in the first game of the October international window at the Stade de Geneve in Switzerland on Saturday, October 9.

Northern Ireland (3-5-2): Peacock-Farrell; Ballard, Cathcart, Brown; Smith, McCann, Davis (C), Thompson, Lewis; Washington, Lavery.

Subs: Bradley, Flanagan, Saville, McGinn, Lafferty, Ferguson, Carson, Charles, Jones, White, McCalmont, Hazard.

Switzerland (4-3-3): Sommer (C); Widmer, Akanji, Elvedi, Rodriguez; Freuler, Frei, Zakaria; Vargas, Seferovic, Fassnacht.

Subs: Garcia, Zeqiri, Steffen, Mvogo, Zuber, Sow, Lauper, Lotomba, Aebischer, Kobel, Schar, Zesiger.

The post Northern Ireland Share Spoils With Switzerland In Belfast appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Ian Baraclough’s side sit fourth in the Group C table, three points off Switzerland who are in second – a draw will take Northern Ireland up to third and a win will propel them to second in the table.

Switzerland need a win to keep the pressure on group leaders and European champions Italy, who are four points ahead of Xhaka and co. with two more games played.

The Swiss are still unbeaten in the group and will look to extend that streak with a result against the Green And White Army.

However, Northern Ireland will have the advantage of fans on their side at the Belfast venue.

Changes are expected to be made to the Northern Ireland that beat Estonia in a friendly at the weekend thanks to a Shane Ferguson screamer.

They will still be without Leicester City’s Jonny Evans as he continues to recover from a foot injury.

Winger Jordan Jones is suspended and will miss the clash against Switzerland as a result.

Goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell will retain his starting position while the duo of Shane Lavery and Conor Washington is expected to appear.

Switzerland will have every player in their squad at their disposal for the upcoming match.

However, four of their players picked up a yellow in the draw against Italy on Sunday and will need to tread carefully to avoid suspension.

Predicted Lineups

Northern Ireland (3-5-2): Peacock-Farrell; Ballard, Cathcart, Brown; Smith, McCann, Davis (C), Thompson, Lewis; Washington, Lavery.

Subs: Bradley, Flanagan, Saville, McGinn, Lafferty, Ferguson, Carson, Charles, Jones, White, McCalmont, Hazard.

Switzerland (4-3-3): Sommer; Widmer, Akanji, Elvedi, Rodriguez; Freuler, Frei, Zakaria; Vargas, Seferovic, Fassnacht.

Subs: Garcia, Zeqiri, Steffen, Mvogo, Zuber, Sow, Lauper, Lotomba, Aebischer, Kobel, Schar, Zesiger.

Odds

Northern Ireland 5/1

Draw 11/4

Switzerland 4/7

Where To Watch

The match will kick-off at 7:45 pm and will be available to watch on Sky Sports Football with coverage starting at 7 pm.

The post Northern Ireland v Switzerland – Preview, Lineups, Odds, TV Coverage appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

The two teams in Group C are in need of a win to chase Italy and Switzerland down, with Ian Baraclough’s side sitting third, five points off the play-off spot.

A 2-0 loss to a rotated Italian side before their European success and a goalless draw with Bulgaria are all Northern Ireland have to show for their efforts thus far.

Baraclough’s national side have only won one of their last 10 games – a 3-0 friendly win over Malta in June – and have been the lesser side when it comes to possession in each of them.

Their five-at-the-back setup is likely to be in use once again tonight but it will not be at full strength as their will be several absentees.

Leeds United star Stuart Dallas did not travel to Lithuania with the side for personal reasons and will not return for the Switzerland clash.

Hearts forward Liam Boyce misses out for family reasons.

Corry Evans joins his brother Jonny on the sidelines after straining his hamstring and Josh Magennis has been replaced in the squad by Kyle Lafferty after picking up a knock.

Craig Cathcart is a doubt for the Lithuania fixture but Baraclough has said that he expects the Watford defender to play.

Morecombe loanee Alfie McCalmont, whose parent club is Leeds, has been called up from the under-21s.

Stephen Donnelly returns from a long-term injury while Sunderland’s Tom Flanagan has also joined up with the squad.

Midfielder George Saville will miss the game through suspension but will be available for the side’s match against Switzerland.

Leicester first-team coach Adam Sadler, who joined Baraclough’s staff this week, will not be with the side for the September internationals due to a family bereavement.

Lineups

Lithuania (4-2-3-1): Setkus; Baravykas, Utkas, Satkus, Slavickus; Verbickas, Megelaitis; Novikovas, Chernykh, Lasickas; Dubickas.

Subs: Gertmonas, Klimavicius, Gaspuitis, Dapkus, Uzela, Jankauskas, Tutyskinas, Kazlauskas, Plukas, Barauskas, Vorobjovas.

Northern Ireland (5-3-2): Peacock-Farrell; Smith, Cathcart, Ballard, Lewis, McNair; Davis (C), Thompson, McCann; Lavery, Washington.

Subs: Donnelly, Carson, Flanagan, McCalmont, Lafferty, McGinn, Brown, Jones, Whyte, Charles, Hazard.

Odds

Lithuania 10/3

Draw 2/1

Northern Ireland 19/20

Where To Watch

Lithuania v Northern Ireland will kick-off at 7:45 pm Irish Standard Time. The match will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football with coverage starting at 7:30 pm.

The post Lithuania v Northern Ireland – Preview, Lineups, Odds, TV Coverage appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

This be the first Euro 2020 quarter-final and RTE 2 will be televising the match at 17:00, today, Friday 2^nd July and also on RTE Player.

Both sides have to travel a long distance to St Petersburg Stadium in Russia for this game.

Switzerland comes into the match with a mixed bag of form but with great confidence after coming back to beat the World champions France on penalties. They also have Steven Zuber on the wing who has the most assist so far in the Euros.

One major worry for the Swiss is that they will be without their captain Granit Xhaka for the game. The Arsenal man will most likely be replaced by young Bundesliga player Denis Zakaria or Newcastle defender Fabian Schar.

Although being involved in one of the games of the tournament so far, the 5-3 win over Croatia, Spain have only won one match comfortably in their last six games.

Spain has no injury concerns, but they hope that striker Alvaro Morata has his confidence in front of goal back. He scored his second goal of the competition in the last game to make up for his penalty miss in the group stage.

These teams faced each other twice in last year’s UEFA Nations League with their latest match ending in a 1-1 draw in Basel.

This game could be full of surprises with both teams being very unpredictable at the Euros so far.

Spain step up the preparations

Who'll have the biggest impact vs Switzerland? #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/NF8ufXvvBV

— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) July 1, 2021

Predicted Line-ups

Switzerland

Formation

3-4-1-2

Predicted Starting 11

Sommer (GK), Elvedi, Akanji, Rodriguez, Widmer, Feuler, Zakaria, Zuber, Shaqiri, Embolo, Seferovic

Injuries/Suspensions

Xhaka

NEW: Xherdan Shaqiri will captain Switzerland in the absence of the suspended Granit Xhaka against Spain. #awlive [mail] pic.twitter.com/IvnUVEfIH3

— Anfield Watch (@AnfieldWatch) July 1, 2021

Spain

Formation

4-3-3

Predicted Starting 11

Simon (GK), Alba, Azpilicueta, Laporte, Garcia, Pedri, Busquets, Koke, Torres, Sarabia

Injuries

None

Betting

Spain is the bookies’ heavy favorite for this tie with odds of 8/13.

A draw after 90 mins seems very possible with the bookmakers’ odds of 27/20.

Switzerland are given a very slim chance of progressing with odds of 9/2 to win.

Score Prediction

Spain is hoping to replicate their 5-0 win over Slovakia, but it will not be so easy with the Swiss.

Switzerland showed that they can have a strong, rigid defensive structure and that they can come back from certain defeat.

This is not a strong Spain side so expect that this game will go to extra time. Spain will only overcome the Swiss with their greater squad depth to bring on talented substitutes. It will be a tight and stubborn affair with a final scoreline of 2-1 to the Spanish.

Croatia vs Spain
France vs Switzerland

these games proved that football is the BEST sport in the world #EURO2020 #CROESP #FRASUI pic.twitter.com/cDMqbUhaOT

— LFCfooty (@_FootballTwts) June 28, 2021

The post Euro 2020: Switzerland v Spain, Team News, Betting, Prediction appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

The Swiss started off the better of the two sides with their crossing proving to be a big threat against France’s back three.

The side went ahead after Haris Seferovic headed the ball into the France net just 15 minutes into the game.

France centre-back Clement Lenglet was caught out, ducking while Seferovic leapt to connect with wing-back Steven Zuber’s cross.

Clement Lenglet was the only player in Europe's top 5 leagues last season to be sent off, score an own goal, make an error leading to an opposition goal and concede a penalty

Probably not the player to bring in to your side for the knockout stage of #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/1JReFy9y2E

— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) June 28, 2021

France’s 3-4-3 confused the players who were unsure of what to do in the new system and they reverted to a back four after 35 minutes.

Lenglet was replaced by Kingsley Coman at half-time and the substitution swung the game in the favour of Les Bleus.

Coman’s presence meant there was an extra man in the French attack and the move stretched the Swiss backline.

Two goals from Karim Benzema on either side of a missed Swiss penalty put France into the driver’s seat and put Benzema on four goals in the tournament.

Hugo Lloris’ penalty save was his first for France since 2012.

Paul Pogba turned on the style with some effortless passing in the pocket, akin to a quarterback.

France’s Tom Brady scored the third goal for France to put the game beyond doubt, at least at that moment in time.

However, N’Golo Kanté’s performance as a sole defensive midfielder was a no-show and the middle of the park saw the creation of many dangerous attacks.

Switzerland fought their way back into the game.

Granit Xhaka, who has been impressive alongside Remo Freuler in the tournament, turned it up a notch and started putting on a passing clinic of his own.

Absolute masterclass of line-breaking passing from Pogba & Xhaka

— Premier League Panel (@PremLeaguePanel) June 28, 2021

Seferovic nodded a second header home with Raphael Varane to blame this time as he let the Benfica goalscorer get in front of him.

Xhaka’s fantastic vision saw Mario Gavranovic add a brilliant 90th-minute equaliser after having a goal ruled out for offside just minutes before.

Xhaka could have assisted a winner moments later when Admir Mehmedi was played in but the striker’s touch let him down.

Extra-time came and went with both sides going close but failing to find a winner.

Switzerland penalties were flawless with Mehmedi converting the fifth and final one, righting his wrong from regular time.

Kylian Mbappé missed the deciding spot-kick, capping off a frustrating and underwhelming tournament for Didier Deschamp’s men.

Vladimir Petkovic’s side were understandably elated after Yann Sommer’s save – they reached the quarter-final of a major tournament for the first time since the 1954 World Cup when they beat Italy 4-1 in a playoff as they finished the group on the same points.

It is unlikely that their Euro 2020 quarter-final against Spain will reproduce the same goalscoring numbers as last night (or even their 1954 World Cup quarter-final against Austria, a 7-5 loss that lasted 90 minutes.)

However, it will be history for this Swiss side, who have just made the world take notice.

Switzerland v Spain kicks off at 5 pm on Friday.

The post Euro 2020: Switzerland Stun France In Frenetic Fixture appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Six groups of four will be battling it out for their place in the knockout stages.

After the group stages conclude, a maximum of three from a group can progress.

Two groups will only have two teams progress because only four third-place sides are needed to make up the last 16.

Group A is up first – Italy, Switzerland, Turkey, and Wales.

ITALY

Italy has been one of the standout national sides in Europe recently and is unbeaten in 27 games.

Roberto Mancini’s men are favourites to win Group A with a resolute defence and strong attack.

Veterans like Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci will be part of the side but younger players will also prove important if Italy live up to expectations.

In particular, Nico Barella, Federico Chiesa and Gigi Donnarumma will help to create a fine mix of young and old Azzurri. 

In addition, many players in the squad are in their prime years.

Marco Verratti, Ciro Immobile and Jorginho are among those at the top of their game.

The talent of Barella, Verratti and Locatelli in midfield will be tough for the opposition to suppress.

All their group games will have home advantage as they are at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

Therefore, the Italians will have a pre-emptive edge over their group stage opponents.

#Azzurri

The highlights from yesterday evening's thumping win #ITACZE #VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/yQzvRR6dBo

— Italy (@azzurri) June 5, 2021

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland is looking to make a statement at the Euros this summer.

In recent years, their defence has been impressive, conceding only six in eight games to qualify for the competition. 

Specifically, Bundesliga stars Yann Sommer and Manuel Akanji will be key in maintaining this.

However, they have lost to some of the top sides in Europe recently.

Now is the perfect time to change that with Haris Seferovic in his prime and Xherdan Shaqiri looking to make a point this summer.

Granit Xhaka and Remo Freuler will be among those who will look to connect defence and attack.

Furthermore, Djibril Sow and Denis Zakaria will give the national side options in midfield.

Therefore, Switzerland’s final group game may be the decider for second place as they face a young Turkey side in the closing round.

TURKEY

Turkey is one of the dark horses of the European Championships this summer because of their strong squad that has flown under the radar.

Manager Senol Gunes is in his second stint with his home country after a successful period at Besiktas.

The 2002 UEFA Coach of the Year has a talent-filled squad once again ahead of Euro 2020, the youngest at the tournament.

The legendary Turkish manager took the side to third place at the 2002 World Cup.

Above all, Gunes will want to be a part of another strong tournament with this new generation.

Ozan Kabak and Caglar Soyuncu offer a strong defensive partnership with Zeki Celik providing width at full-back.

The chemistry between Celik and strikers Yusuf Yazici and Burak Yilmaz will be important for the Turks.

The trio won Ligue 1 together with Lille this season.

As a result of this, they will be hungry for more success this summer.

Okay Yokuşlu and Hakan Calhanoglu will offer support for both ends of the pitch in midfield and Ozan Tufan will provide some individual magic.

The side has adequate depth – with Merih Demiral and Orkun Kokcu among those waiting in the wings.

WALES

The final side in Group A is 2016 semi-finalists Wales.

The Wales hierarchy will be hoping for a similar tournament this year and have chosen a squad that reflects this hope.

Joe Rodon and Ethan Ampadu will play in central defence and Neco Williams and Ben Davies will play on either side of them.

Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen will supply a strike force that includes Gareth Bale and Harry Wilson.

David Brooks and Ben Cabango are also included in the squad but the strength of Wales’ opponents may prove too powerful, in contrast.

However, caretaker manager Rob Page has won four games and drawn two since taking the reins.

Their form could carry over into the tournament and turn Group A on its head.

Group A Fixtures: Turkey v Italy, Friday, 11th June 20:00. Wales v Switzerland, Friday, 12th June 14:00. Turkey v Wales, Wednesday 16th June 17:00. Italy v Switzerland, Wednesday 16th June 20:00. Italy v Wales, Sunday, 20th June 17:00. Switzerland v Turkey, Sunday, 20th June 17:00.

The post Preview: Euro 2020 Group A appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.