Switzerland
2014
,
Brazil
,
FIFA
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Group E
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Switzerland
,
World Cup
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Switzerland - Group E (Ecuador, France, Honduras)
Switzerland has never won a major trophy despite playing from the second World Cup. They have been on and off at the world stage, playing nine world cups and three euros so far. Ever since Roy Hodgson, the current English Manager, took over their reigns in 1992, the team showed tremendous improvements and had been a bit consistent in their performances
Profile - The Tale of Two Eras
Switzerland possess a couple of unique and contrasting records at the World Cup stage. They hold a record of playing most consecutive matches conceding at least one goal, 22 from 1934 to 1994, and most consecutive matched without conceding a goal, joint holders with Italy with 5 matches from 2006 to 2010. They also played most consecutive minutes without conceding, 559 minutes. This shows their defensive caliber in recent past
The Swiss have become surprisingly proficient at keeping clean sheets and have shown the knack by denying their opponents in 7 out of 10 of their qualifying matches. Their attack seems a concern though with their inability to score consistently and frequently. They also tend to concede late in the matches
Confederation: UEFA (Europe)
Coach: Ottmar Hitzfeld (GER)
FIFA Ranking: 8 (8-May-2014)
Nickname: Schweizer Nati, La Nati,
Rossocrociati
Rossocrociati
Key Players: Shaqiri, Inler, Benaglio
Legends: Frei, Chapuisat, Yakin
History - The Occasional Guests
Switzerland has played in nine World Cups so far, and reached the last four in three of their first four attempts. However they failed to qualify in six consecutive finals between 1970 and 1994. They have also played three Euro tourneys but failed to get into knockouts each time
The only significant achievement in Swiss football history is their silver medal in 1924 Paris Olympic games
Qualifiers - Clean Sheets
Switzerland qualified for the world cup mostly owing to their solid defense conceding just six goals, four of those in a single match. That particular match, against Iceland, would also be their major concern as they were 4-1 up at one stage before faltering to 4-4 draw. They were unbeaten throughout the campaign
Prospects - Defend Their Way Out
While the Swiss doesn't possess the kind of fire power to outclass their opponents, they have a significant advantage at the end of the pitch. None of their Group E rivals troubled the opponents' defense much and this would assist Switzerland to advance from the group. But they are on course to meet one of the tourney favorites Argentina as early as the round of 16
Squad
Ottmar Hitzfeld, on May 13, announced the final sqaud for the World Cup, along with seven reserves
Goalkeepers:
Diego Benaglio (VfL Wolfsburg), Yann Sommer (FC Basel), Roman Buerki (Grasshoppers)
Defenders:
Johan Djourou (Hamburg SV), Michael Lang (Grasshoppers), Stephan Lichtsteiner (Juventus), Ricardo Rodriguez (VfL Wolfsburg), Fabian Schaer (FC Basel), Philippe Senderos (Valencia), Steve von Bergen (Young Boys), Reto Ziegler (Sassuolo)
Midfielders:
Tranquillo Barnetta (Eintracht Frankfurt), Valon Behrami (Napoli), Blerim Dzemaili (Napoli), Gelson Fernandes (Freiburg), Gokhan Inler (Napoli), Xherdan Shaqiri (Bayern Munich), Valentin Stocker (FC Basel), Granit Xhaka (Borussia Moenchengladbach)
Forwards:
Josip Drmic (Nuremberg), Mario Gavranovic (FC Zurich), Haris Seferovic (Real Socieded), Admir Mehmedi (Freiburg)
Reserves:
Marwin Hitz (Augsburg), Timm Klose (VfL Wolfsburg), Silvan Widmar (Udinese), Eren Derdiyok (Bayer Leverkusen), Fabian Frei (FC Basel), Pajtim Kasami (Fulham), Pirmin Schwegler(Eintracht Frankfurt)
Fixtures
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