A very improved squad, Switzerland will make its 12th World Cup appearance at Qatar, but they have never made it past the quarterfinals, nonetheless is fair to say that this team has been haunted by weird results on several occasions. One of the peculiar records this team holds dates back to 2006, when they were eliminated of the tournament without conceding a single goal, and they even extended this run until the 2010 World Cup. This time around, Switzerland has learned from its mistakes, and has assembled a pretty good team that likes to go against all odds.
Old Acquaintances
Switzerland will take part on Group G, a very weird group that is almost the same as in 2018. The Swiss will make its World Cup debut on Thursday, November 24th against the newest member of the group; Cameroon. This will be a key fixture as the European side will need to get maximum points if they want to avoid early dismissal. On match-day 2, Switzerland will take on World Cup favourites Brazil, and if they fail to make any damage, they will play for their lives against Serbia in match-day 3. The fixture order can help Switzerland, but they will need to be ready to go, as they will have little room for mistakes.
Swiss Veteran at The Helm
Murat Yakin was appointed as Switzerland coach just over a year ago (August 2021), but he made an immediate impact as he led his team to a successful European World Cup Qualifiers run that sent the Swiss Team to Qatar over European Champions, Italy. Yakin is a former player (CB), that spent his most fruitful years in his hometown club FC Basel. Murat knows Swiss football pretty well, and has build upon this pretty good generation of footballers.
Trust Your Stars
The Swiss team captain, Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka, has been playing the best football of his career, and after a lot of ups and downs, his versatility in midfield has finally borne fruit, as he has become one of the best players in his position. Granit has matured, and taken care of his attitude and temper, two factors that have played against him on several occasions. He will be a key for a successful World Cup campaign.
In the back, Switzerland has been a fortress, and with talismanic goal keeper Yann Sommer, who has played crucial roles for the national team, and one of the best centre-backs in football, Manchester City’s Manuel Akanji there is no easy way to inflict damage to this team.
Second Favourites In The Group
Even tough Switzerland were drawn in a pretty difficult group once again, there is still plenty of opportunities for them to make it through to the next round of the tournament. If the Swiss can keep composure and lean on their experienced players, they might as well be the black horse of the World Cup and make it at least to the quarter finals.
