International Friendly Preview: Switzerland v Brazil

FIFA 2014 World Cup hosts Brazil will look to extend their 11-match unbeaten run when they take on Switzerland on Wednesday.

Luiz Felipe Scolari’s men head into the international friendly contest at St Jakob-Park on a high after winning the FIFA Confederations Cup on home soil in July, completing their triumph with a 3-0 victory over Spain in the final.

The Brazil coach has opted to keep faith with virtually the same squad that won the World Cup warm-up event, with the only addition coming in the form of Paris Saint-Germain defender Maxwell.

Neymar – who joined Spanish champions Barcelona for €57million in the close-season – is also among those set to be given another chance to shine, with reported Bayern Munich target David Luiz likely to continue at the heart of the defence.

The game will provide Scolari with another opportunity to continue cementing his side ahead of the World Cup finals a year from now.

By contrast, Switzerland are still very much battling to secure their place in the showpiece.

Ottmar Hitzfeld’s side currently sit at the top of qualifying Group E, but with four games still to play they will use the opportunity to sharpen up ahead of the next round of fixtures against Iceland and then Norway later this year.

History is not on their side, however, with the Swiss having beaten Brazil just once in 10 meetings between the two nations – a 1-0 victory in 1989.

Hitzfeld has a strong squad to select from, with the likes of veteran defender Philippe Senderos and Bayern Munich midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri – who will return to his former home stadium, having made the switch to the German giants from Basel in February 2012 – both likely to be included.

The veteran coach is also likely to look to include some of the country’s young talent, with 21-year-old Basel defender Fabian Schaer and Grasshopper’s Michael Lang receiving first-time call ups.