🇷🇸v 🇨🇭Group E matchday 2 of 3 at the Стадион Калинингра д

which coincidentally is in Kaliningrad and is at the mouth of the navigable Pregolya River, which empties into the Vistula Lagoon, an inlet of the Baltic Sea. Prior to 1945 it was known as Köningsberg as it was part of Germany 🇩🇪

KICK OFF: 1900 hours sharp. the FIFA are yet again being obstinate t**ts again over the kick-off times despite being issued with multiple warnings on here by me.

The pervasive shadow of Kosovo looms large over this match-up because of a little flag on one of the players boots so expect a fair old dose of needle. Xherdan Shaqiri walks out in Kaliningrad. The Switzerland forward will be sporting footwear that, on his right side, displays the stitched flag of Kosovo. He is far from the only member of the team to profess that allegiance, and it has raised the temperature of a fixture that has looked pivotal to both sides’ World Cup hopes ever since the draw was made.

“If he loves Kosovo so much and decides to flaunt the flag why did he refuse a chance to play for their team?” asked Serbian player Aleksandar Mitrovic when Shaqiri’s choice of boot, for balance a Swiss flag is displayed on his left boot.

The teams:

Serbia come into the game on the back of a steady 1-0 win over the bus parking Costa Rica in Samara last weekend and sporadic outbreaks of “Kosovo je Srbija” (Kosovo is Serbia) could be heard coming from bars in the city, Russian fans joining in with their visitors. Should prove to be a tasty old atmosphere and tetchy game. Good luck ref.

Serbia have not progressed to the knockout rounds of the World Cup since its independence, failing to get beyond the group stage in both 2006 and 2010 so they see tonight as a huge opportunity and will be aiming for the win.

Kolarov, whose stunning free kick saw off Costa Rica, stressed Serbia will maintain its intensity when the Balkan nation faces Switzerland tonight.

Switzerland will be full of confidence after holding World Cup heavyweights Brazil to a draw in Rostov-on-Don which isn't in Sheffield.

The Swiss frustrated Brazil with their physical approach (leading to Neymar being fouled on 10 occasions the most fouled player in a single match in the WC finals for 20 years) and managed to escape with a precious point thanks to Steven Zuber's controversial header. It ain't going to be pretty tonight that's for sure.

Two to watch:

🇷🇸Aleksandr Mitrovic - All eyes will be on Juventus, Manchester United and Real Madrid target Sergej Milinkovic-Savic again after his dazzling display but it could be Aleksandar Mitrovic's time to shine. The Serbia forward amassed four shots against Costa Rica without scoring, having netted five goals in as many international appearances in 2018.

🇨🇭Xherdan Shaqiri - unplayable on his day othewise he can drift right out of games.

Head 2 Head stats:

Honours are fairly even as they've never played each other before.

Serbia Facts:

Most last names in Serbia end in "ic" the majority of the Muslim population in the once Serb occupied Kosovo had the suffix added to their names which they soon dropped after the Nato invasion in 1999.

Serbia is the world's largest raspberry producer

18 Roman Emperors were born in the territory now called Serbia

The Serbian clock making industry is older than the Swiss. Serbs had their own clock 600 years earlier.

Swiss Facts:

Everyone is f**king minted

Posted By: Tombs, Jun 22, 18:32:11