Four years ago, Wales lived a fairytale. The Dragons went into the 2016 edition as huge underdogs but came out of it with their heads held high, slaying Russia and Belgium among others on route to a semifinal spot. They lost to eventual champions Portugal.
Switzerland had a different and a more underwhelming campaign, only reaching the round of 16 stage, suffering an exit to Poland on penalties. But, they come into this campaign with an increased level of confidence after topping group D, besting the likes of Denmark and Ireland.
The two teams are yet to clinch the trophy after a combined five appearances. Wales will be entering the competition for the second time in their history whilst Switzerland will be making their fifth appearance.
A goalless draw a possibility
The two teams go into the competition with good defensive records from the qualifiers. Switzerland and Wales conceded six goals each in eight qualifying matches.
Wales managed to keep three clean sheets in eight games and Switzerland kept four in the same number of matches. Going for under 1.5 (2.28) using Betway may serve investors well.
Team news
Switzerland initially announced a 29-man squad on 19th May and cut it to 26 on 31st May. They can count on the experience of Arsenal man Granit Xhaka and Liverpool winger Xerdan Shaqiri.
Switzerland predicted XI: Sommer, Akanji, Schar, Elvedi, Mbabu, Rodriguez, Xhaka, Zakaria, Embolo, Shaqiri, Seferovic
Wales announced their preliminary 28-man squad on 24th May and reduced it to 26 six days later. James Lawrence withdrew due to injury and has been replaced by Tom Lockyer.
Wales predicted XI: Hennessey, Roberts, Lockyer, Rondon, Davies, Ampadu, Bale, Allen, Williams, James, Moore.
The odds
Switzerland are favorites to win the game, priced at 2.16 on Betway at the time of writing and Wales are priced at 3.54 on Ghana’s biggest betting platform. A draw has been priced at 2.91. Switzerland have been favored due to a head-to-head advantage over Wales over the last decade.
Wales v Switzerland head-to-head
7th October 2011: Wales v Switzerland 2-0 (UEFA European Championship qualifiers)
12th October 2010: Switzerland v Wales 4-1 (UEFA European Championship qualifiers)
9th October 1999: Wales v Switzerland 0-2 (UEFA European Championship qualifiers)
31st March 1999: Switzerland v Wales 2-0 (UEFA European Championship qualifiers)
24th April 1996: Switzerland v Wales 2-0 (International Friendly)
Switzerland have been undoubtedly the better team in the matchup against Wales, winning four of their last five battles. The two teams have never clashed in the Euros tournament since their very first meeting in 26th May 1949 where the Swiss won 4-0.
Wales have only defeated their upcoming opponents twice in seven matches, losing the other five.
How to follow the tournament in Ghana
Enjoy selected live matches televised on Joy Prime (English) and Adom TV (Akan). You can also watch games in high definition on the HD+ Decoder, where Joy Prime HD is channel 102 and Adom TV HD is channel 103.
On radio, get live commentary of this match in English (Joy 99.7 FM, Luv 99.5 FM and/or Hitz 103.9 FM) or in Akan (Adom 106.3 FM, Nhyira 104.5 FM, and Asempa 94.7 FM).
You can also get all the above programs (radio and TV) streaming on the media section of this website.
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