Honduras vs Switzerland: Ottmar Hitzfeld looks to hat-trick hero Xherdan Shaqiri to take down Lionel Messi-inspired Argentina side
Shaqiri scored all three goals against Honduras to see the Swiss through to the second round where they will meet rgentina
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Even for a man who has twice won the European Cup, keeping Lionel Messi at bay may be the tallest order of Ottmar Hitzfeld’s career. Nevertheless, as the Switzerland manager prepared for the round of 16 encounter with Argentina, Hitzfeld commented that his team had no pressure on them.
“All the pressure will be on Argentina,” he said after a 3-0 victory over Honduras saw them go through behind France in Group E. “We have got nothing left to lose so things can only get better for us.”
In the shape of Bayern Munich’s Xherdan Shaqiri, whose hat-trick in Manaus was the 50th scored in the history of the World Cup, Hitzfeld at least possesses a striker who is in the kind of form Messi has displayed in Brazil.
“Shaqiri is a player who can make a difference against Argentina because he can decide games on his own,” said Hitzfeld, who will be retiring from management once this tournament is done. “Even when we lost 5-2 to France, he played well and I put him in as a number 10 against Honduras and that paid off.”
If the Swiss do overcome Argentina, they will have reached the quarter-finals for only the second time. The only other occasion was when they hosted the World Cup in 1954. Then, they went down 7-5 to Austria. Even against Messi, Hitzfeld would hope for some better defending this time around.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments