Switzerland have nothing to lose against Argentina

Argentina will take on Switzerland in the 2014 World Cup round-of-16 match at  the Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo this afternoon.

This will be the seventh international meeting between the two sides, with Argentina remaining unbeaten till now (W4, D2).

The Argentines come into the match as favourites after  winning all their group matches. However, their wins were not convincing and they struggled to break down a bold Iranian team and conceded two goals against the Nigerians. That shows that the Albiceleste are beatable.

Moreover, the Argentineans have depended completely on Lionel Messi to bail them out of trouble, which could be detrimental for them. Alejandro Sabella will be hoping that all his players hit form, especially the likes of Angel Di Maria and Ezequiel Lavezzi, especially after the loss of Sergio Aguero through injury.

Coach Alejandro Sabella believes Argentina are peaking in time and will be all out to claim the spoils in this game.

"We started improving from the point of view of structure. We see an improvement as a whole. I don't like speaking about individuals. The strikers played a better game this time. The weakness we discuss at home in private. You can win not playing well and still have things to correct, I'm pleased about the nine points but I must always improve."

Switzerland come into the game with nothing to lose, so they can play their natural game. The Swiss have not made a quarter-final of a World Cup since they hosted the tournament 60 years ago.

Ottmar Hitzfeld will be glad that they ended their group stages on a high after they thrashed Honduras 3-0. Star forward, Xherdan Shaqiri, will also be buzzing after he got a hat-trick in the same game to open his World Cup account. However, the coach lost his reserve striker Mario Gavranovic, who succumbed to a ligament injury during training

Hitzfeld insists they have nothing to lose and admits they are not the favourites in this game, but they will put up an honourable fight.

"We are the clear outsiders but we have nothing to lose and much to gain. In one game, anything is possible. We mustn't dwell on Messi or focus just on him, as they can all pose a threat. We can make history, each and every player has their own chance to join the others in writing their own chapter."