Tue Jun 10 17:55:57 2008

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Turkey, Switzerland aim to rebound from losses

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Basel, Switzerland (Sports Network) - The host nation has advanced to the knockout round in all but one European championship since 1980 - Belgium failed to advance when it co-hosted with the Netherlands in 2000 - but Switzerland will have a lot of work to do if they are to continue that trend.

The Swiss entered the competition expecting to battle the Czech Republic and Turkey for the second spot in Group A, but after dropping their opening match to the Czech's, Switzerland's match with Turkey at St. Jakob Park on Wednesday now becomes a must-win contest.

Both teams suffered losses in their openers, and a second loss for either one would spell the end of the competition.

Not only did the Swiss lose their match with the Czech Republic, but they also lost their top player in striker Alex Frei, who left the game at halftime with a knee injury and will miss the remainder of the tournament.

Frei is Switzerland's top offensive threat and his absence will make it difficult for the Swiss to generate many goals, something that Turkey also struggled with against Portugal.

Midfielder Hamit Altintop and striker Nihat Kahveci must both see more of the ball in attack since they are team's top scoring threats, but they will be up against an organized Swiss back line that allowed only one shot on goal in the first match.

Turkey will likely struggle against a good Swiss defense, while Switzerland lacks a true goal scorer with the absence of Frei. Marco Streller will be counted on to shoulder the scoring load in Frei's absence, but he disappeared in the opener and will need to be a much bigger part of the match on Wednesday.

One goal should be enough for either side to claim three points and get back into contention, while a draw, which is a likely outcome, would do neither team much good.