Bosnia & Herzegovina vs Switzerland

Bosnia against Switzerland carries the weight of proximity — these are nations whose border is less than a three-hour drive, and their footballing interactions have been frequent, physical, and occasionally spiteful. They have met seven times since Bosnia's independence, with Switzerland holding a 4-2 advantage and a 2012 draw in Sarajevo. Most recently, they were drawn together in UEFA Nations League Group 4 in 2024-25, where Switzerland won 2-0 in Zenica and ground out a 1-0 victory in Basel — matches that featured 47 fouls combined and three red cards. Barbarez knows Swiss football intimately from his playing days in the Bundesliga, and his game plan will be built on disrupting Xhaka's rhythm.

Bosnia's midfield, anchored by Rade Krunić, will be instructed to press Xhaka whenever he receives with his back to play, forcing Switzerland's build-up wider than Yakin would like. The danger is that committing bodies to stop Xhaka leaves space behind, and Swiss forwards Breel Embolo and Ruben Vargas are ruthless when presented with room to run. Džeko, still the fulcrum of Bosnia's attack, will demand crosses from wide positions, and if Swiss wing-backs are pinned back by Bosnia's overlapping full-backs, the supply line to the veteran striker becomes dangerous.

This is a match that will be won in the transitions: whoever makes better decisions in the five seconds after possession changes hands controls a fixture that neither side can afford to lose.