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Romania selection dilemma for crunch Switzerland game

By Reuters - Jun 14,2016 - Last updated at Jun 14,2016

Switzerland’s goalkeeper Yann Sommer attends a training session at their training ground at the Mosson Stadium in Montpellier on June 12 during the Euro 2016 tournament (AFP photo by Pascal Guyot)

PARIS — Romania coach Anghel Iordanescu must decide whether veteran left back Razvan Rat can repel the danger of Xherdan Shaqiri in what could be the defining confrontation of his team’s Euro 2016 clash with Switzerland on Wednesday.

The Romanians were crestfallen to lose 2-1 to hosts and favourites France in the dying moments of the tournament opener on Friday, Dimitri Payet’s long-range stunner ending their stout resistance.

Iordanescu’s team, which conceded just two goals in qualifying — the best defensive record in the preliminaries — were surprisingly enterprising going forward versus France and should pose even more problems to the Swiss, who beat Albania in their opening match, in their next Group A encounter.

But Rat’s form will surely be a concern. The 35-year-old recently returned from a shoulder injury and struggled to cope with the exuberance and trickery of France’s Antoine Griezmann in the first half, while substitute Kingsley Coman’s pace was equally troubling to the Rayo Vallecano defender late on.

Shaqiri, with 17 international goals in 54 appearances, boasts similar qualities to both those French attackers, and will fancy testing Rat’s possible shortcomings.

Should Iordanescu, in his third stint in charge of the national team, opt to drop Rat, he could select 22-year-old Steliano Filip.

A downbeat Iordanescu had warned after the France defeat that his players were exhausted and it would be difficult to rouse them psychologically to face Switzerland, which suggests he will freshen up his line-up for the Parc des Princes encounter.

Other selection dilemmas include whether to persist with young striker Florin Andone, second-top scorer in Spain’s second division this season, or instead start with Denis Alibec, a substitute at Stade de France.

Likewise, speedy winger Adrian Popa may give way to the more experienced Gabriel Torje, but Nicolae Stanciu’s place seems assured after his sparkling creative display.

The Swiss, seeking to advance to the knock-out stages of the Euros for the first time, were efficient in defeating debutants Albania 1-0.

Centre back Fabian Schaer’s early header proved decisive, although keeper Yann Sommer also made two outstanding saves to preserve their slender lead.

The Swiss line-up is likely to differ little against Romania, with coach Vladimir Petkovic preferring a settled team. Of the 11 players that started against Albania, eight played in at least eight of Switzerland’s ten qualifying matches.

That means Granit Xhaka will attempt to boss proceedings from midfield, Shaqiri will drift in from wide right and Stephan Lichtsteiner and Ricardo Rodriguez will surge forward from full back.

A win over Romania, or perhaps even a point, will all but ensure Switzerland’s progress to the next round. Yet defeat could still put their place in jeopardy, with France, who thrashed the Swiss 5-2 at the 2014 World Cup, to come in their final group game. 

 

Rise to the occasion

 

Albania are unlikely to pose much of a threat to France but Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann will be expected to produce sharper performances in Wednesday’s Group A match when victory should assure the hosts a last 16 spot in Euro 2016.

Midfielder Pogba and striker Griezmann were both lacklustre in France’s opening 2-1 win over Romania, a result that was salvaged thanks to Dimitri Payet’s stunning 89th minute strike.

Victory against Albania in Marseille would put France on six points from two games with their place in the knockout phase all but guaranteed.

“We all realise how important Antoine and Paul are for us and I’m sure you will see a great France team with both Antoine and Paul at their very best,” said midfielder Moussa Sissoko.

A long season with Atletico Madrid appears to have taken a toll on Griezmann. The 25-year-old played more than 50 official matches and was on club duty till May 28, when Atletico were beaten by Real Madrid in the Champions League final.

Pogba has struggled to recreate the impact he has with Juventus and coach Didier Deschamps said after the Romania game that he expected “much more” from the gifted midfielder.

“Paul can do better obviously but I’m not disappointed in his performance,” he said.

“The media are expecting too much from him. He has outstanding technical abilities but he’s also a player who does a lot of hard work, who wants to do well, maybe too well.”

Pogba, as well as fellow midfielder Blaise Matuidi and defender Laurent Koscielny skipped Sunday’s training session despite not reporting any injuries.

Matuidi believes France will fare better against Albania, who beat them 1-0 a year ago in a friendly game.

“We must be better than against Romania. We did not play the game we wanted to play but it was due to the context, it was the opening match [of the tournament]. There is no particular problem,” he said.

“We must be able to take risks, to show personality. It will be better against Albania, I’m not worried at all.”

While Romania were strong in the midfield, Albania may struggle in that area since captain Lorik Cana will be suspended from the match. He was sent off in the 1-0 defeat by Switzerland.

“There will be no easy matches but we’re more relaxed now and determined to go all the way,” said Matuidi.

 

Threat of more clashes

 

The Russian national football team has been handed a suspended disqualification from Euro 2016 and a 150,000-euro ($168,300.00) fine after their fans were involved in violent clashes in Marseille, the governing body UEFA said on Tuesday.

England coach Roy Hodgson and captain Wayne Rooney have appealed to supporters to behave after the team was threatened with being kicked out of the European Championship because of fan violence.

 

Russia will play Slovakia in Lille on Wednesday, and England faces Wales the next day in Lens, raising the prospect of more clashes.

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