Switzerland put four past Jordan in World Cup warm-up

Given their attacking prowess on home turf, it came as no surprise to see Switzerland take charge from the very start. Two offside calls and a missed chance from Dan Ndoye in the opening 12 minutes served as a warning for Jordan.

But those warnings went unheeded. After more Swiss pressure, during which Yazeed Abulaila saved a Johan Manzambi effort heading for the bottom left corner, Jordan's goalkeeper fouled Remo Freuler inside the box. The resulting penalty was converted by Embolo into the bottom right corner, making it six successive home matches in which he has scored before half time.

Jordan offered no response, and the Swiss doubled their lead just after the half hour mark. Ndoye made amends for his earlier miss by finishing clinically at the end of a Michel Aebischer through ball into the box.

Granit Xhaka then took advantage of the lengthy injury time caused by an earlier VAR review, when another one of those reviews led to a second penalty for the Swiss after Saed Al Rosan fouled Embolo inside the box. The former Arsenal player fired low into the opposite corner to make it 3-0 and put his side firmly in control.

Though the game seemed all but decided, Jordan made a statement of intent early in the second half. Mousa Tamari, a known threat after nine goal contributions in the World Cup qualifiers, found Odeh Al-Fakhouri, who rifled a right footed shot from outside the box into the bottom left corner.

However, that did not spark a comeback. From that point on, the match became a tale of missed chances and fading energy.

To give credit where it is due, Jordan never gave up. Yazan Al Arab’s header over the bar from close range at the end of a corner caused a brief moment of concern. But the Swiss finally put all doubts about the outcome to rest with 12 minutes remaining, when a swift counter attack saw Embolo play the ball into the centre of the box for Christian Fassnacht to fire into the net.

That put the finishing touch on a useful workout for Switzerland ahead of their sixth consecutive World Cup finals appearance, which will begin in a fortnight against a comparable Gulf region opponent in the form of Qatar.

Based on today’s display, they will be clear favourites to start their tournament with a win, while Jordan will need to learn quickly from this experience if they are to avoid a tough lesson from Austria in their own opener, even with the advantage of four extra days of rest compared to the Swiss.