FIFA World Cup 2014 Predictions: Match #9 Switzerland vs. Ecuador

Final Score

Switzerland 2 Ecuador 1

Overview

The ninth match of the FIFA World Cup 2014 is going to be held between Switzerland and Ecuador. The Group E match should be interesting as it is a must-win match for both the teams as losing this match may perish their dreams of going to the next round.

Teams

Switzerland: Switzerland's best performance in a world cup came long back in 1954 when it reached the quarter-finals. However, it is the highest ranked (6th) team in the group at the moment. It emphatically qualified for the world cup, finishing at the top of the European table. They were far ahead of the second team on the table, Iceland. It won both its matches in the pre-world cup friendlies against Jamaica (1-0) and Peru (2-0). Xherdan Shaqiri is the key man in this team. German coach Ottmar Hitzfeld will expect a lot from him in this world cup.

Ecuador: The South American team has qualified thrice in the world cup. They earlier qualified in 2002 and 2006. It managed to seal a 2-2 draw against England in the pre-world cup friendly. However, Manchester United winger Antonio Valencia was sent off in the match. So, the key player will miss this match. It defeated Uruguay in their penultimate match in the qualifiers, which eventually gave it a place in the world cup. Veteran Colombian coach Reinaldo Rueda will want to win this match to give them a chance to qualify for the "group of 16."

Head to Head

These two teams never played against each other.

Key Players

Switzerland: Valon Behrami and Xherdan Shaquiri

Ecuador: Walter Ayovi

Date, Time & Venue

Brazil's time zone is UTC/GMT -3. The match starts at 1 pm (local time) on June 15, which means it is 2 am on June 16 in New South Wales, Australia. The match will be held at Estadio Nacional in Brasilia.

Prediction

This is going to be a highly competitive match, one of the best in the group stages. Both the teams will give a tough time to each other. The Swiss team will eventually win it 2-1.

Group Predictions

Group A, Group B, Group C, Group D, Group E, Group F, Group G & Group H

Reference: FIFA

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au