JAKARTA - Switzerland and Serbia will fight for the final Group G spot for a knockout round seat in a repeat of the 2018 World Cup match which could rekindle the emotions of the two teams.
By already packing three points, Switzerland looks to be in a better position as Brazil's companion from Group G to the round of 16.
On the other hand, Serbia has only one option to qualify for the knockout round, namely defeating Switzerland in this match.
Launching Antara, if you get a draw, then it will only make it difficult for Serbia unless Cameroon topples Brazil in another Group G match. If this were to happen then who would be Brazil's partner would be determined by goal difference.
Switzerland and Serbia, who together with Cameroon must win if they want to continue in the 2022 World Cup finals, have only faced each other before this in the 2018 World Cup group stage.
The match remains in the memories of the fans of the two countries as they perceive it as a highly political match.
At that time, Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka, who was born in Basel to Albanian parents who came from Kosovo, celebrated his goal against Serbia by making a double-headed eagle symbol with his hands which is a symbol of Albanian nationalists as printed on the Albanian flag.
Xherdan Shaqiri, born in Kosovo and declared independence from Serbia in 2008, also scored for Switzerland.
He imitated Xhaka's celebration when Switzerland won 2-1 in the group phase meeting. They both angered the Serbian team and urged world soccer's governing body FIFA to fine the two players for unsportsmanlike behavior.
Shaqiri, who did not feature in Switzerland's 1-0 loss to Brazil in their second Group G match due to a muscle injury, is expected to return against Serbia.
But he was quick to say Switzerland was in Qatar to play football, not to repeat what happened four years ago.
Controversy over Kosovo has gripped Serbia in the 2022 World Cup. This comes as Serbia urged FIFA to investigate the Swiss football federation after a Kosovo flag was seen hanging in the dressing room when they faced Brazil.
The Kosovo Football Federation, which became a member of European football's governing bodies UEFA and FIFA in 2016, condemned Serbia's aggressive behavior.
This is another spice that will liven up the thrill of the match between these two attack-oriented teams but with different football cultures.
Predict the first eleven players
Serbia (3-4-3): Vanja Milinkovic-Savic; Nikola Milenkovic, Milos Veljkovic, Strahinja Pavlovic; Andrija Zivkovic, Nemanja Maksimovic, Sasa Lukic, Filip Kostic; Dusan Tadic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Switzerland (4-2-3-1): Yann Sommer; Silvan Widmer, Manuel Akanji, Nico Elvedi, Ricardo Rodriguez; Granit Xhaka, Remo Freuler; Xherdan Shaqiri, Djibril Sow, Ruben Vargas; Breel Embolo.
Important stats for both teams
Switzerland beat Serbia in the only previous meeting between the two sides when they met on the same stage at the 2018 World Cup.
Aleksandar Mitrovic opened the scoring early for Serbia in the game before Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri scored in the second half to seal all three points. The three players will face each other again on Saturday morning.
The bottom team Serbia got two points and is under Switzerland who is in second place in Group G. They need to win to get to the round of 16.
Serbia has never advanced to the knockout rounds.
Switzerland is looking to reach the last 16 for the third year in a row and only needs a draw if Cameroon does not beat Brazil.
Switzerland has not lost its final group game in its last four World Cups.
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