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Switzerland may destroy anyone’s dreams

Sarah Almas: No one is putting Switzerland in the list of title contenders for the World Cup in Qatar. But there is no way to exclude the party as a middle power in Europe. Even if they do not win the World Cup, they can break the dreams of any team. So there is no way to take the Swiss lightly.

Achievements of the Swiss in World Cup football:

Switzerland first participated in World Cup football in 1934. It was the second World Cup football event in history. The World Cup in Italy started with a direct knock out. The Swiss beat the Netherlands 3-2 in their World Cup debut. Leopold Kielholz scored his World Cup debut for the Swiss in seven minutes of the match. Switzerland lost to the Czechs in the quarter finals. Kielholz scored three goals in the tournament.

Switzerland has participated in the World Cup 11 times so far. The big success is the passage to the quarter finals. In 1954, Switzerland defeated Italy twice on the way to the quarter-finals. And lost 5-7 to Austria in the last eight match. In that match Josef Hügi scored the only hat-trick of the World Cup for the Swiss.

Switzerland played four consecutive World Cups from 1934-54. It has not been dropped since 2006. The country is going to play the fifth consecutive World Cup for the first time in Qatar.

The Swiss have played 37 matches in the World Cup. Win in 12 matches. Draw 8 and defeat 17. 50 goals were scored for them and 64 against.

Hügi scored six goals in the 1954 World Cup for Switzerland. In one World Cup game, Huggie is the Swiss’s top scorer in the World Cup. Velon Behrami has played the most four World Cups. He also played a joint maximum of 10 matches for the Swiss in the World Cup from 2006-18. This record has the name of another Swiss star Stephan Lichtsteiner. He played in the 2010-18 World Cup.

The superstars of Switzerland were:

Stephane Chapuisat is considered the best footballer in the history of Switzerland. From 1991-99, he played in Germany’s Borussia Dortmund. In addition to the 1994 World Cup, he played two Euro championships. In club football, he won seven titles including two Bundesliga and Champions League. He scored 21 goals in 103 matches for the country. In 2003, he was selected as the ‘Golden Player’ by the Swiss Federation. The best footballer in the 50-year history of the Swiss was selected.

Alexander Frei scored the most goals in the history of Switzerland with 42 goals. He played in the national team from 2001-11, a whole decade. The number of matches is 84. That is, one goal in every two matches in his country’s jersey. His career started and ended from the best club in his country, Basel. Played in Rennes of France and Borussia of Germany. In the 2004-05 season, he was the top scorer in the French League One. He has been the best of the year of his country three times.

Switzerland’s first superstar Joseph Huigi. He owns 22 goals in 34 matches in the national team. Besides, Heinz Hermann holds the record of playing the most 118 matches in the jersey of the Swiss. His number of goals in the national team as a midfielder is 15. He has been selected as Switzerland’s footballer of the year for the most five times.

Road to Qatar:

European qualifiers are always tough. To get a place in the 2022 World Cup, the Swiss have to play in ‘C’ group against Italy, Northern Ireland, Bulgaria and Lithuania. In terms of strength, all but Lithuania were contenders for the World Cup ticket. But Switzerland, who topped the group, proved themselves to be the best. With 18 points from five wins and three draws in eight matches, they got the World Cup ticket directly. On the other hand, Italy went to the playoffs with 16 points. Where the Azzurri are out of two consecutive World Cups after losing to Macedonia.

Switzerland scored 15 goals in the World Cup qualifiers. Breel Embolo got three goals for the Swiss in the qualifying round.

The best star of the present time:

Switzerland’s main driving force is Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka. Shaqiri is a fan favorite as a winger. He played the third highest 108 matches for the country. 31-year-old Shaqiri will set the record for the highest number of matches in the coming days, it is certain. The number of goals in the national team is 28. Received the ‘Swiss Footballer of the Year’ award twice.

Shaqiri started his club career for his country FC Basel. Later, he played for Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Stoke City, Liverpool and Olympic Leo and is now playing in the American Chicago Fire team. In 2022, he scored 7 goals in 29 matches for the club. He has tasted all titles including Swiss Super League, Bundesliga, English Premier League and Champions League. The number of titles in club football is 19.

Granit Xhaka is the captain of the Swiss team. This midfield star has played 106 matches for the national team. There are 12 goals. He has been playing in England’s giant Arsenal since 2016. He has 29 goals in 470 matches in club football. The last two World Cups and Euro games depend on Shaka’s team. Won the Swiss Player of the Year honor.

Besides, Swiss goalkeeper Ian Sommer has 76 international matches. Ricardo Rodriguez has played 100 matches. Fabian Schar has played 72 matches. Forward Severovic has a record of 25 goals in 88 matches. All of whom are playing in Europe’s best leagues. The team is very balanced with them.

Coach and tactics:

Swiss coach Murat Yakin since 2021. Switzerland won 7 out of 15 matches under him. Draw and loss are equal to four. Switzerland mainly played in 4-2-3-1 formation. Where his preferred XI at the World Cup could be – Ian Sommer (goalkeeper), Silvan Widmer, Nico Elvedi, Fabian Schar, Ricardo Rodriguez, Remo Frauler, Zenit Xhaka, Xherdan Shaqiri, Djibril Sow, Ruben Vargas, Breel Embolo.

Recent Performnace:

With one win and one draw in the Euro Championship held in 2021, they somehow entered the knock out phase as the third team in the group. They lost miserably to Italy 3-0 in the group. However, a draw with Wales and a chance to win against Turkey in the top sixteen round. However, in the knock out phase, France got great success by sending off the tiebreaker. Again, in the quarter finals, they lost to Spain in a tiebreaker and left.

In 2022, Switzerland finished third in their group in the UEFA Nations League. The other three teams in the group were Spain, Portugal and the Czech Republic. The Swiss have also seen three wins in a tough group. They lost all three teams. Lost with three teams.

The start of this year was very bad for Switzerland. They lost four of the first five matches. Their 2022 journey began with a loss to England in March. The only draw was against weak Kosovo. But as the World Cup approaches, the Swiss team has changed. Portugal, Spain and the Czechs have lost in the last three matches in a row. Which is like hoping for the team before the World Cup. It can be said that the Swiss are coming to Qatar with great form.

Switzerland Final Squad:

Goalkeepers – Ian Sommer, Gregor Kobel, Philipp Kohn, Jonas Omlin

Defence – Manuel Akanji, Eray Comert, Nico Elvedi, Fabian Scher, Silvan Widmer, Ricardo Rodriguez, Edimilson Fernandes

Midfield – Michel Aebischer, Xherdan Shaqiri, Renato Steffen, Granit Xhaka, Denis Zakaria, Fabian Frei, Remo Freulet, Noah Okafor, Fabian Reider, Ardon Jashari

Forwards – Breel Embolo, Ruben Vargas, Djibril Sow, Haris Soferovic, Christian Fassanacht

Target in Qatar:

Brazil, Serbia and Cameroon are the opponents of Switzerland in the ‘G’ group in Qatar World Cup. The group is undoubtedly very strong. Even five-time World Cup champion Brazil is not guaranteed to reach the group stage. It can be said that the Swiss have a great chance to pass from the group stage.

Switzerland’s first match on November 24 is against the indomitable lion of Africa, Cameroon. Their opponent is Brazil on November 28. And on December 3, the Swiss will play against Serbia.

Conclusion-

The Swiss team lacks a world-class striker. However, the World Cup is an event for any footballer to prove himself. Therefore, it is not strange to see the Swiss at least until the quarter-finals if the strikers and others take responsibility for scoring.

Kri/sp-001