Settled system
Switzerland play with a three-man defence, a system which has long been favoured by manager Vladimir Petkovic throughout his career. The Bosnia-born coach initially stuck by the 4-2-3-1 system he inherited from Ottmar Hitzfeld when he took over following the 2014 World Cup, but more recently has introduced his own system.
It seems suited to his current line-up. Manuel Akanji has improved enormously in his distribution from the back, Fabian Schar is an excellent exponent of the long ball out of defence and Nico Elvedi has experience of playing in a three-man defence at Borussia Monchengladbach.
The midfield varies between four and five men, although in both cases it revolves around Granit Xhaka’s passing. The Arsenal player is usually positioned in front of the defence, almost in the role of the deep-lying playmaker, although sometimes he is moved to the left of a four-man midfield as an attacker.
If Xherdan Shaqiri is playing, he usually fits in between a four-man midfield and a two-man attack. If not, Petkovic often opts for three players in the front-line, spearheaded by the somewhat erratic Haris Seferovic and the powerful but less prolific Breel Embolo.