France and Switzerland both have eyes for the knockout rounds after winning their first games, and the winner of Friday’s game in Salvador would almost certainly earn one of Group E’s two tickets to the Round of 16. Benzema comfortably stepped
into the attacking void left by Franck Ribery’s absence from the squad, only missing out on a hat trick in France's 3-0 win over Honduras when opposing 'keeper Valladares fumbled his shot into the goal. Switzerland are
unlikely to be as generous, especially with the wily Ottmar Hitzfeld on the bench, and it’s entirely possible France will need to find another outlet for goals.
Switzerland sit No. 6 in the FIFA
World Rankings while France sit 11 places behind them at No. 17, but ask anyone from the seeded Swiss team, and they’ll tell you it’s France and their star power who will have the advantage in this match. It’s probably the correct assessment, the discrepancy a product of the FIFA's funky ranking methods.
Switzerland came from behind to stun the South Americans in their first fixture hence must be very motivated for this game same applies to France after thrashing Honduras 3-0. It's worthy to note that since the 2014 World Cup whenever two European teams meet it has always resulted to goals and this case is no exception.
Verdict: Over 2.5 goals
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