"In every game we played well in the first minutes but then created problems for ourselves, so opponents indeed looked better than us for short periods of the game. We must try to lead as long as possible. Usually, we took the lead in the second half, but we do not want to give Sweden upper hand - not for a single second," Petkovic said.

He added that the diversity of cultures and nationalities in Switzerland squad serves the team very well.

Switzerland are looking to reach the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 1954 and will face Sweden in St. Petersburg on Tuesday.