The Pressure Game

In the training camps to prepare for the World Championships, high-pressure and high-tech are used to hone the perfect athlete's performance. The body is under constant strain, so injuries are inevitable. It's an experience Yvon Mvogo would have liked to do without: the disappointment over his World Cup exit runs deep. This is in stark contrast to Christian Fassnacht, who has successfully fought his way back into the World Cup squad after several injuries through hard work and an irrepressible will. Star striker Breel Embolo, on the other hand, is considered to be a lock and faces a bittersweet conflict ahead of the game against his native Cameroon: should he make Switzerland proud or give Cameroon hope.

Record world champions Brazil are just waiting to take Switzerland apart on the pitch in their second game. Yakin and his advisory staff are trying to disenchant the soccer magicians through meticulous analysis and sophisticated tactics. Team mainstays Remo Freuler, Manuel Akanji and Yann Sommer provide a fascinating insight into the difficulty of putting these theories into practice on the pitch. As news of Neymar's absence reaches the team, hopes rise, but so does the pressure of expectation for the David versus Goliath match.

Switzerland vs. Serbia: For the second time, the team around captain Xhaka faces an opponent who is not only about football. In an emotionally charged match, the Swiss players with Albanian roots are confronted with their history, provocations from the opponent and controversies from the Swiss media. Adrian Arnold, head of communications, tries to nip the conflict in the bud. But Granit Xhaka, who is in a rage, will not let himself be restrained by anything or anyone. Unless his name is Silvan Widmer, a defensive bulwark with nerves of steel in the Swiss national team.

2009 U17 world champion Haris Seferovic will have to hold his own against the brashly attacking youth of Ruben Vargas and Noah Okafor if he is to seize what is probably the last chance of the golden generation to reach a World Cup quarterfinal with the Swiss national team for the first time in history. Whether it's an injury, a career setback or a catcall, in Seferovic's case it's his wife Amina, in Vargas' case it's his faith in God, in Fabian Frei's case it's his experience in the team that helps prepare him for the decisive round of 16 match against Portugal. A lifetime of preparation, but the game turns into a debacle: 6:1 - Swiss football is down.