LIVE STREAM & PREVIEW: Slovakia and Switzerland Battle In Key Qualifier

Slovakia and Switzerland square off in a crucial game this Saturday, September 26, that will decide who plays in the IFAF Europe Group B tournament in 2016.

This is the second of six qualification matches this fall. Israel defeated Spain earlier this month in Spain 28-20. The winners of each qualification game will enter the Group B tournament in 2016 which will also include Great Britain and Italy.

Switzerland is coming off last weekend’s 12-0 victory over Team Holland and head coach Chris Winter had a good chance to assess his players. Quarterback Steven Mueller had a good game playing the entire first half, throwing a touchdown pass and giving Switzerland a 9-0 halftime lead. The other two quarterbacks, Tim Liechti (London Blitz) and Marcel Niklaus also played well in the second half so the quarterback position will likely be a game time decision for the Swiss coaching staff.

Expect running back Fabian Schaller to start as well as Adrian Suenderhauf and Dalvin Sollberger at receiver. Key offensive lineman Daniel Shachar will be back wth the offensive line again opening holes for the relentless Swiss running attack.

Safety Alex Raich had a strong game against Holland and will be back. He was responsible for forcing the Dutch touchback. Raich can also double as receiver if necessary. Dominic Liechti anchors a solid defensive line.

Slovakian head coach Greg Anderson was not displeased by his team’s showing against the Belgian Barbarians in August and will return many of the starters from that game including quarterback Boris Butora. Butora played in the Czech league for two seasons leading the league in passing in 2015 averaging 192 yards per game over the eight game regular season.

At running back Anderson will start Stefan Slovak of the Bratislava Monarchs while the speedy Patrik Slusny will start at wide receiver. Slusny can also step in at quarterback if necessary.

Defensively, Slovakia relies on defensive end Tomaz Szarka, who is relentless. He finished the regular season in the Czech league with a league-leading four sacks in the four games he played. Linebacker Marek Ruman is known for his football IQ and is always around the ball. The defensive secondary features Juraj Sanitra, who was a dangerous ballhawk in the Slovakian league in 2015.

This is only the fourth game in the history of the Solvakian national team which was formed no more than five years ago and the coaching staff is looking for their first international win. The game against Belgium, which they lost 40-22, gave the coaches an idea of what kind of team they have. They scored on their first drive and only trailed Belgium 12-7 at the half.

Watch the game live here.  Saturday September 26. Kickoff  6 PM (12 Noon EDT)