World Cup Qualifiers: Switzerland vs Slovenia! Is the "League of the Disappointed" the key in this edition?

Today's first topic isthe World Cup Qualifier: Switzerland vs Slovenia!

In past qualifiers, fans mainly paid attention to how the main players performed at their clubs. If they were in excellent form, they were likely to perform well for their national teams too.

However, this qualifier appears different; those who are flourishing at their clubs don't necessarily put in full effort for the national team, whereas the "League of the Disappointed" often plays with greater passion— take Switzerland as an example.

Some teams in this qualifier have star players who have developed very well.

For instance, Germany's Wirtz moved to Liverpool for €125 million, and Waldemar went to Newcastle for €85 million; the Netherlands’ Reijnders became a core player at Manchester City, Gakpo has been brilliant with 3 assists in 3 games at Liverpool, and Van Dijk remains one of Liverpool’s key defenders.

Yet these teams have not performed as expected, with many players showing poor attitude during matches.

On the contrary, teams like Switzerland, whose key players have struggled, have played incredibly fiercely in this qualifier.

How badly have their main players struggled?

The worst case is striker Embolo, who was dropped by Monaco, then moved to Rennes but hasn't gotten any playing time this season — not even a single minute. Even worse,he recently lost an appeal and was found guilty.

Attacking midfielder Rieder also suffered; once hailed as Switzerland’s hopeful star, he was offloaded by Rennes and transferred to Augsburg, where he still hasn’t played a minute this season.

The renowned world-class defender Akanji couldn’t settle at Manchester City and was loaned to Inter Milan, where he also hasn't played any minutes this season.

Zakaria has been physically unfit and surprisingly didn’t start the first leg.

Captain Xhaka moved from Bayer Leverkusen to Sunderland, which is difficult to call a step up.

In short, most of the team members have not been doing well.

Perhaps because of this,they not only have excellent stamina reserves but also a strong desire to prove themselves.

For example, the most down-and-out striker Embolo scored twice, with the second goal being a beautiful backheel — truly impressive.

Former Manchester City reject Akanji also scored a header, showing glimpses of his former world-class defender level.

Note: This big win not only boosted morale and confidence,but Switzerland's overall energy expenditure was actually quite low.

Because they led by four goals in the first half, the match was basically decided early, so Switzerland made many substitutions in the second half and played very relaxed. Despite having 65% possession,they only had one shot in the second halfand it was a harmless long-range attempt, clearly focusing on control and passing — obviously saving energy for the match against Slovenia today.

Slovenia’s situation is completely different.

In Group B, with four teams of similar strength, Slovenia must give their all when playing Sweden at home — they absolutely cannot relax. Losing at home would put them in a very difficult position going forward.

However, Sweden is very strong, even without Isak playing. Slovenia’s players were heavily fatigued, with several cramping, and forward Muračar had to leave due to injury.

Therefore, their coach Kek openly stated,some players are quite tired and he’s unsure if they can play the second match, hinting at possible rotations.

Why is it that despite Switzerland and Slovenia having similar market values and Slovenia performing well against Sweden last time, Switzerland is receiving much stronger support today? After understanding the above context, I can also agree with this.

So, can Switzerland satisfy their fans? What do you think? I look forward to them breaking through the barrier!

Alright, for today’s other matches, I will still share my written insights with you tonight. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. Let’s watch the game and understand it together — see you there!

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