A rocky old acquaintance on the way to the final four

The Spanish team returns to Zaragoza 19 years after its last visit and thus settles a debt with the city of the Ebro. In the Aragonese capital, the city that resisted Napoleon, where up to now it has accumulated three victories, one draw and one defeat, La Roja intends to take an important step towards the final four of the League of Nations against Switzerland. It is an old acquaintance normally bowed down by the Spanish team, but which also tends to be a headache before ending up giving up the place.

The clashes between Spain and Switzerland have become in recent years a sort of regular encounter. La Roja and the Swiss team have met up to five times since 2018, with a balance of two Spanish victories and three draws, although always in very tight matches and in which neither of the opponents scored more than one goal. The data offers a clear clue as to where a match can go that, in the event of a victory for Spain and a defeat for Portugal against the Czech Republic in Prague, would open the doors to the final four of the League of Nations for the second consecutive edition.

Basel’s 0-1 win in June with a goal from Sarabia is the latest precedent in a rivalry that very recently led to a dramatic resolution on penalties in the multi-venue European Championship played in the summer of 2021. Further back in time is that stumble in the debut of the World Cup in South Africa, the only victory for Switzerland against the Spanish team in 24 matches to date.

To beat Switzerland but also refine the set-up for the World Cup, the always unpredictable Luis Enrique aims not to leave anything in reserve, with an eleven that could look a lot like the one that faces Costa Rica in the World Cup debut next 23 of November. In that equation, and although Aymeric Laporte is not present this time due to injury, perhaps the most solvent center-back in Spain today, Unai Simón remains the reference goalkeeper, with Carvajal, Eric García, Pau Torres and Jordi Alba as a hypothetical line defense, a midfield made up of Gavi, Pedri and Busquets that excites locals and strangers, as well as an offensive trident made up of Ferran Torres, Morata and Sarabia that the coach himself recognized in the previous one as a likely choice.

Illusion in La Romareda

The duel, beyond the competitive, has the possible international debuts of Nico Williams and Borja Iglesias as incentives, even more special if it occurs for the Galician striker, since he was a Zaragoza player in the 2017-18 season and the great taste in the mouth that he left in La Romareda invites us to think that the party would be round if the Panda ends up having minutes before what was his hobby. And it is that in the capital tomorrow a special atmosphere is breathed these days with the visit of the national team, quite an event for a city once accustomed to elite football but that now accumulates a decade with its historic team in the silver category of football Spanish.

For its part, the Swiss team, led by Murat Yakin, remains a tough nut to crack. His classic mix of players of African origin, such as Embolo or Zakaria, and Kosovar Albanians, in the case of Shaqiri or Xhaka, did not allow him to get off to a good start in a competition in which his chances of reaching the decisive round are quite remote. However, the surprising victory against Portugal on the last day gives the Swiss the chance to fight against the Czechs for the goal of avoiding relegation to League B in the League of Nations.