Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld has piled the pressure on Argentina ahead of their second-round World Cup meeting by insisting that his team are the underdogs to progress.

Hitzfeld's side take on one of the pre-tournament favourites next Tuesday after beating Honduras 3-0 on Wednesday night to finish as runners-up in Group E.

Lionel Messi and co. booked their place in the last 16 by winning all three of their Group F fixtures en route to topping the pool, and the German coach says that his Swiss team have nothing to lose against the South Americans.

"We've got nothing left to lose so things can only get better for us," he told FIFA.com.

Xherdan Shaqiri bagged a hat-trick in the win over Honduras, and Hitzfeld went on to praise the game-changing qualities of the Bayern Munich ace.

He added: "Xherdan Shaqiri is a player who can make the difference because he can decide games on his own. Even against France he played very well. I put him as a number 10 today and that paid off."

The clash with Argentina is scheduled to kick off at 5pm.

Written by
Shane Callaghan