Sweden, Switzerland 0-0 at halftime in scrappy game

Sweden and Switzerland were locked in a goalless stalemate at halftime in their World Cup round of 16 match on Tuesday after a scrappy opening 45 minutes.

Sweden had the best chance when Marcus Berg's shot forced a fine one-handed save from Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer, while Albin Ekdal squandered another opportunity with a wild effort at the far post. Blerim Dzemaili wasted Switzerland's best chance when he fired over from 12 metres.

Switzerland coach Vladimir Petkovic has rewarded Josip Drmic with a starting place for the World Cup round of 16 match against Sweden.


Drmic, who scored as a second half substitute in Switzerland's 2-2 draw with Costa Rica in its last group match, replaces Breel Embolo in the front line.

Petkovic also was forced to make two changes in his defense because of suspensions. Captain Stephan Lichtsteiner and Fabian Schaer both miss the match and are replaced by Michael Lang and Johan Djourou.

Sweden coach Janne Andersson made one change to the starting lineup that beat Mexico 3-0 in its last group match, bringing in Gustav Svensson for suspended midfielder Sebastian Larsson.

Lineups:
Sweden: Robin Olsen, Mikael Lustig, Victor Lindelof, Andreas Granqvist, Ludwig Augustinsson, Albin Ekdal, Marcus Berg, Emil Forsberg, Gustav Svensson, Viktor Claesson, Ola Toivonen.

Switzerland: Yann Sommer, Manuel Akanji, Michael Lang, Granit Xhaka, Valon Behrami, Ricardo Rodriguez, Steven Zuber, Blerim Dzemaili, Josip Drmic, Johan Djourou, Xherdan Shaqiri.