Sweden – Switzerland

In their home ground, the Swedish national team will perform better than the group leader.

Group B will see its third matchday on Friday. This quartet is one of the most competitive in the World Cup qualifying stage. Initially, the Kosovo national team was regarded as the underdog, but the Balkan team currently holds second place with three points after two rounds. Only Switzerland looks convincing in the group, but they had two home games. Although these were convincingly won, the Swiss perform much worse on foreign pitches. Last year, Sweden breezed through the League C of the Nations League, but entered the new qualifying campaign with nothing but disappointments. Considering that the Swedish national team missed the 2022 World Cup, the entire country is focused on successfully navigating the qualifying stage. A second consecutive loss would be a serious blow to the ambitions of the Swedish team. As a result, in Stockholm, they are gearing up for a victory against the group leader. Bookmakers have made the home side the favourites for the upcoming match, offering odds of 2.44 on their win. The Swedes find themselves backed against the wall due to having obtained only one point from two qualifying matches. In the first round, Sweden traveled to Slovenia, where they led 2-1 at the end of regular time but conceded a goal in the 90th minute, settling for just one point. In the second round, Sweden lost to Kosovo away 0-2. It is worth noting that nearly the entire squad of the Scandinavian national team plays in Serie A, the Bundesliga, and the English Premier League. The core is made up of players from Arsenal, Liverpool, and Newcastle, namely: Djokeres, Isak, and Elanga. These footballers can certainly beat the Swiss team. The visitors to the upcoming match had no chance last year, getting relegated from League A of the Nations League, alongside Spain, Serbia, and Denmark, with just two points. Switzerland began their World Cup qualifying campaign with home victories over Kosovo and Slovenia, scoring a total of 7-0. On one side, their leading position in the group is a reason for the Swiss to be in good spirits. On the other, they have yet to face such opposition as they will encounter in Solna this year.