VLAD PLAN TO SUCK LIFE OUT OF BRAZIL

SWITZERLAND coach Vladimir Petkovic said his side must be prepared to win ugly in today’s clash against Brazil.

The Swiss have lost only once in their last 22 games, to European champions Portugal.

It is a similar record to five-time Cup winners Brazil, who have won 17 of their 21 games under coach Tite and are one of the favourites to lift the trophy.

“We’re not here to make a lovely match, but to win it,” Petkovic (above) said. “We’ll try to be as organised as possible. You need to provoke a team like Brazil into making mistakes, so you can create opportunities. “That’s the mentality you need to have because we’ll need to score one or two goals to win the game.” Captain Stephan Lichtsteiner has come up against Neymar while playing for Juventus. The new Arsenal recruit said: “It’s practically impossible to completely neutralise Neymar for 90 minutes, he’s the most complete player in that position in the world.

“We need to use our strength, use our fullbacks as wingers, we need to close the gaps in front of other players when we confront individual players.”

Petkovic remarked on the sweltering heat in Rostovon-don, where temperatures hit a peak 32 degrees while his side were training, a contrast to the mild conditions at the team’s base in Togliatti.

But Lichsteiner added: “We have a winning mentality and winners look for solutions.”