KALININGRAD: A topsy-turvy Group ‘E’ could be thrown into further disorder when Serbia and Switzerland clash on Friday in a contest that could put one team on the brink of advancing to the knockout round.

A group that was supposed to see mighty Brazil at the top instead has Serbia, the lowest ranked in the pack, looking down at everyone after a 1-0 win over Costa Rica in their opener while the South Americans and Switzerland battled to a 1-1 draw.

Serbia will attempt to wrap up qualification to the World Cup knockout stage on Friday as they take on a Switzerland team brimming with confidence.

The Serbs control their own destiny in this pool, courtesy of a stunning Aleksandar Kolarov free-kick in the opening fixture.

Victory over the Swiss in Kaliningrad would guarantee Serbia a place in the last 16, regardless of whether they win or lose their final group game with Brazil next week.

Roma star Kolarov acknowledged that Serbia are in a strong position to qualify for the knockout rounds for the first time since they competed alongside Montenegro in 1998.

However the 32-year-old cautioned that the Serbs would take nothing for granted against the Swiss.

“It’s very important that we have these three points in the bag, but it’s not over, Switzerland will be the hardest match,” he said. “I don’t want to do the maths for now, if we draw it would not work, we want to win of course.”

Serbia boast a host of current and former Premier League talent, including Manchester United Midfielder Nemanja Matic.

But their rising star is Lazio’s Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, a rangy attacking midfielder who has drawn comparisons to Serbian great Dejan Stankovic.

Former coach Slavoljub Muslin, who led the team to qualification for Russia, reportedly paid with his job for failing to select Milinkovic-Savic.

It’s not a mistake current coach Mladen Krstajic intends to repeat and the Lazio man — who has reportedly attracted the interest of Real Madrid — was lively against Costa Rica.

“Milinkovic-Savic is a great pla­yer, with really exceptional technique,” said Swiss defender Denis Zakaria. “It’s not just him, lots of their players play for big clubs, but we also have good players.”

Switzerland were ranked above France and Spain in sixth place before the tournament and battled hard for a point against a Brazil side led by Neymar in their opener.

“It was very good teamwork on the right side. It was almost a perfect game. It’s important to have this teamwork,” said Arsenal-bound captain Stephan Lichtsteiner.

Serbia have based themselves in Kaliningrad — Russia’s European territory on the Baltic Sea — throughout their stay in the tournament and tens of thousands of their countrymen are expected to travel for the game.

One sub-plot to watch for could be the Serbian fans’ treatment of Switzerland’s three Kosovan-born players.

Midfielders Valon Behrami of Italian club Udinese, Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri of Stoke City were all born in Kosovo and all three played in the Brazil game.

Kosovo was a former province of Serbia, and Serbian fans gathered in Kaliningrad on Tuesday night to celebrate Russia’s 3-1 over Egypt while chanting ‘Kosovo is Serbia.’

Delivering a suitable encore, however, has at times eluded Switzerland who eight years ago in South Africa beat eventual champions Spain in their World Cup opener but failed to advance out of the group stage.

The Swiss are not seen as contenders for the trophy but the Alpine nation are unbeaten in their last six matches, including draws with two of the heavy favourites — Brazil and Spain.

“I hope that people will take notice of us and take us seriously, sometimes there’s a lack of recognition and that’s a pity because we played very well,” said Switzerland coach Vladimir Petkovic.

The Swiss, as usual, are well organised and physical but will not intimidate the Serbs, who showed against Costa Rica that they too embrace the tough going. That could mean plenty of cards being flashed by the referee in a rough and tumble affair at Kaliningrad Stadium.

While the Serbs have an attacking reputation both teams each scored just once in the opening matches, both from set pieces.

“With respect to Switzerland we have analysed all three opponents,” said Serbia coach Mladen Krstajic, after his first competitive game in charge. “We know everything about Switzerland now we are going to watch for some details (from) when they played Brazil to make sure we have not missed any details.”

Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2018