| 2.5 Goals (o -178 \/ u +144)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Odds above courtesy of FanDuel as of June 13.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qatar’s Current Form<\/h3>\n\n\n\nIn 2022, Qatar became the first host nation to lose all three of its group stage matches. Qatar entered that event following a lengthy campaign called Project 2022, where they put every resource into putting their best foot forward on the global soccer stage. With three losses in three matches, that campaign was a flop and the 3.5 years since that event has been somewhat of a disaster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qatar is on its fourth manager in four years as Julen Lopetegui tries to salvage something from this current squad. Two warm-up matches against El Salvador and Ireland did not inspire any confidence as Qatar failed to score in either match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In last year’s Arab Cub, Qatar lost to Palestine and Tunisia while earning a draw against Syria. This team has shown very little on the international stage to suggest that it can compete on this level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Switzerland’s Current Form<\/h3>\n\n\n\nSwitzerland will be anxious to erase the memories of recent tournaments. At the 2022 World Cup, the Swiss suffered a shocking 6-1 defeat to Portugal in the opening round of the knockout phase. Two years later, the Swiss lost to England in a penalty shootout in the Euro 2024 quarterfinals. Switzerland has been one of Europe’s best teams over the last eight years or so, but the Swiss have very little hardware to show for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Switzerland should enjoy a comfortable drop in class with this opening match against Qatar compared to what the Swiss have faced in recent tournaments. In the 2022 World Cup, Switzerland had to deal with Brazil, Cameroon and Serbia in the group stage – All of which are significantly better than Qatar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Swiss have put up some gaudy totals in the lead up to this event. Over the last 12 months, Switzerland has scored four goals against Mexico, four goals against the US, four goals against Kosovo, three goals against Slovenia, four goals against Sweden, three goals against Germany and four goals against Jordan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Switzerland vs Qatar Prediction<\/h3>\n\n\n\nOur preferred angle in this match is to back Switzerland to score in both halves<\/strong>. The Swiss typically do not play with their food and it doesn’t take very long for them to hit the scoreboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIn the final two warm-up matches, the Swiss scored three first half goals against Jordan then scored in the opening 15 minutes against Australia. Switzerland to score in both halves is available at -122 at FanDuel and -130 at DraftKings.<\/p>\n\n\n |