Euro 2024 - Scotland vs Switzerland: Team News and Prediction

Scotland and Switzerland will be eager to claim all three points after falling to defeat to Germany and defeating Hungary, respectively, in the first round of games when they pair meet in Cologne on Wednesday night. 

Here, we run through the necessary pre-match information, including where to watch this Group A game, what time it kicks off, team news and the key battle. 

When is kick off?               

Wednesday 19th June, 20:00 (GMT)              

Where is the match?              

Cologne Stadium, Cologne (Germany) 

Scotland vs Switzerland Team News 

Steve Clarke will be forced to make at least one change to the XI that started the 5-1 loss to tournament hosts Germany on Friday night. Ryan Porteous is suspended after his first half dismissal with Grant Hanley expected to deputise in defence. Lawrence Shankland and Billy Gilmour are also pushing for starts. 

Denis Zakaria, Steven Zuber and Dan Ndoye are all carrying knocks for Switzerland ahead of the meeting with Scotland. Kwadwo Duah scored the opening goal against Hungary last time out and should keep his spot in attack, while Zeki Amdouni should replace Ndoye should he fail to recover. 

Scotland vs Switzerland Probable XIs 

Scotland (3421) - Gunn; Hanley, Hendry, Tierney; Ralston, McGregor, Christie, Robertson; McGinn, McTominay; Shankland 

Switzerland (3421) - Sommer; Schar, Akanji, Rodriguez; Widmer, Freuler, Xhaka, Aebischer; Vargas, Amdouni; Duah 

Scotland vs Switzerland Key Battle

Callum McGregor missed a significant chunk of the second half of the season owing to injury but returned in time to help Celtic to a league and cup double. While he looked a little out of his depth in Friday's loss to Germany, that Scotland went down to 10 men on the stroke of half time didn't help the midfielder nor the Tartan Army. He finished the 2023/24 Scottish Premiership season with the best pass success rate (91.8%) and if given the time to dictate the tempo, can control the proceedings.

The same, though, can be said of Granit Xhaka, who was the heartbeat of Bayer Leverkusen's domestic double last season. Xhaka ended the Bundesliga campaign top for passes per game (98.8) and showcased his ability to keep play ticking over having found a teammate with 89.8% of his 88 passes against Hungary over the weekend.

Scotland vs Switzerland Score Prediction: Scotland 1-2 Switzerland