The visitors will be returning to action for the first time since their World Cup last-16 defeat to Portugal back in December last year, while Belarus's last outing ended in a 2-0 friendly-loss to Oman in November.
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Switzerland will begin their quest to reach the Euro 2024 in Germany with a trip to Novi Sad on Saturday to take on Belarus in their Group I fixture. The game is played at Karadorde Stadium in Serbia because of UEFA-imposed ban on Belarus from hosting continental and international matches. The visitors will be returning to action for the first time since their World Cup last-16 defeat to Portugal back in December last year, while Belarus’s last outing ended in a 2-0 friendly-loss to Oman in November. Both these nations have faced each other only three times before, with the latest encounter in 2017, ending in a narrow 1-0 win for Switzerland, courtesy of Xherdan Shaqiri’s goal.
🗣️🇧🇾🆚🇨🇭 – Silvan Widmer vor dem Spiel
S.Widmer avant le match: “Ce n’est pas un défi de rester motivé, après tout, il s’agit des qualifs pour l’Euro”
S.Widmer alla vigilia della partita: “Si tratta delle qualificazioni all’Euro, perciò è facile mantenere alta la motivazione” pic.twitter.com/CVxVaTwPRN
— 🇨🇭 Nati (@nati_sfv_asf) March 24, 2023
For the third consecutive World Cup, Switzerland lost out in the last 16 stage. This time around, the Red Crosses were thrashed 6-1 by Portugal courtesy of Goncalo Ramos’s hat-trick and one goal each from Pepe, Raphael Guerreiro and Raphael Leao, while Manuel Akanji scored a consolation goal for A-Team Nati. Despite the humiliating defeat, overall Switzerland had a fruitful World Cup campaign, recording two wins and a defeat to progress as runner-ups from Group G, behind Brazil. Meanwhile, in the last edition of the European Championships, the Red Crosses reached the quarter-final stage after overcoming France in a thrilling round of 16 encounter at National Arena. They are a very efficient side at navigating qualification sections, having missed only one of the last 10 major tournaments-Euro 2012.
Belarus, on the other hand, have never qualified for either the FIFA World Cup or the European Championship. Their last competitive action was back in September last year in the UEFA Nations League, against Slovakia, which ended in a 1-1 draw, thanks to Ivan Bakshar’s opening goal on the stroke of half-time. The Whites Wings finished at the bottom of League C Group 3, having collected just three points from six games, and have been relegated to League D. And then, Belarus rounded off 2022 with two friendlies in November, winning the first one 1-0 against Syria, before losing 2-0 to Oman last time out.
Belarus Probable Starting Lineup: Plotnikov, Volkov, Polyakov, Yuzepchuk, Khadarkevich, Malkevich, Bocherov, Yablonsky, Ebong, Klimovich, Khvashchynski
Switzerland Probable Starting Lineup: Sommer, Widmer, Akanji, Elvedi, Rodriguez, Xhaka, Freuler, Zakaria, Sow, Okafor, Embolo
Belarus
| Opponents | Score |
| Oman | 2-0 (L) |
| Syria | 0-1 (W) |
| Slovakia | 1-1 (D) |
| Kazakhstan | 2-1 (L) |
| Azerbaijan | 2-0 (L) |
Switzerland
| Opponents | Score |
| Portugal | 6-1 (L) |
| Serbia | 2-3 (W) |
| Brazil | 1-0 (L) |
| Cameroon | 1-0 (W) |
| Ghana | 2-0 (L) |
| Last 3 match-results | Score |
| Switzerland beat Belarus | 1-0 |
| Switzerland beat Belarus | 2-0 |
| Switzerland beat Belarus | 0-1 |
The Euro 2024 qualifier between Belarus and Switzerland will take place at Karadorde Stadium on Saturday 10:30 pm IST.
| Belarus vs Switzerland | Key Details |
| Date | March 25 |
| Venue | Karadorde Stadium |
| Kickoff time in Belarus | 6:00 pm |
| Kickoff time in Switzerland | 8:00 pm |
| Kickoff time in India | 10:30 pm |
The live telecast of the Euro 2024 qualification matches will be available on Sony Sports network. Besides fans in India can live stream through Jio TV and Sony LIV. Football fans in Switzerland can catch the live action via RTS network.
