Following a month of domestic action across the continent to kickstart the new season, it’s time for the first international break of the campaign. It’s full steam ahead to UEFA Euro 2024 next summer but until then, we have to figure out who will be there. Today, we’ll be taking a look at this week’s qualifier between Kazakhstan and Northern Ireland.
Switzerland Form GuideFor so many years now, Switzerland have been seen as dark horses in a lot of the international competitions they qualify for. In the end, though, they ultimately just make up the numbers, either falling away in the group stage or failing to do much of significance in the knockouts. Still, there’s a belief within the core of their squad, and that’s all you can really ask for at this point.
This group, in the eyes of most, is Switzerland’s to lose, which is why they’ve gone unbeaten up to this point. Alas, sometimes you’re dragged into a brawl that you just aren’t prepared for, which is why they only managed a 2-2 draw against Kosovo.
Andorra Form GuideAndorra are the definition of minnows at the international level. A win, or even a draw, is considered a valuable result for them, and their fanbase is well aware of that. They don’t have the resources necessary to compete with the elite and while the Nations League certainly helps the smaller countries, they’re a long way away from where they need to be.
Andorra can get under the skin of their opponents when they want to and every now and then, it leads to a steady result, which is exaclty what happened against Belarus. They stuck to their game plan really nicely and because of that, managed to leave with a 0-0 draw and a point.
Match PredictionAndorra need to sit tight, lock up defensively and get physical when they need to be, in an attempt to use good old fashioned ‘route one’ football to frustrate their far superior opponents. Unfortunately, we don’t think that’ll be a good long term strategy, which is why we’re backing a Switzerland win.