By Philip O’Connor
DOHA (Reuters) – Xherdan Shaqiri believes Switzerland have all the tools they need to make it to the World Cup quarter-finals, but they will need to work together if they are to beat Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in the last 16 on Tuesday.
The Swiss were on the wrong end of a 4-1 thrashing in Lisbon when the sides met in the Nations League in June before bouncing back with a 1-0 win, but none of that will matter in a knockout game, Shaqiri said.
“For me it is gonna be totally different, because there is no friendly game, this is no Nations League, the pressure is high, and so now it’s important how the players deal with this pressure,” the 31-year-old told reporters on Sunday.
“We need a special performance. Portugal to be honest, they are a good team and for me also the favourite in this game, but we know our qualities too. We will try to have a good, special performance and try to cause them a lot of problem in the game.”
Winger Shaqiri scored in Switzerland’s high-pressure 3-2 win over Serbia to set up the clash with Ronaldo’s Portugal, and with the focus now switching to knockout football, the stakes are even higher.
“The key is really to have special performance from the whole team because you know, we are Switzerland, we have no Cristianos in our team,” Shaqiri said with a wry smile.
“As a team, we are always successful and this is gonna be also in this game the same. Everybody (has to) stick together. If everybody goes to the highest level of their performance, then I’m sure we have a chance to go through.
(Reporting by Philip O’Connor, editing by Ed Osmond)
