FIFA World Cup 2010
Switzerland
 SwitzerlandSwiss Football Association Best Results
World Cup Quarterfinals, 1934, 1938, 1954 European Championship Round 1, 1996, 2004 and 2008 Olympic medal record: Silver 1924 |
Switzerland reaches its ninth World Cup participation with great expectations, hoping to leave a good impression in South Africa and thus recover from the disappointments of recent years. The most recent and painful failure happened in the 2008 Euro Cup, where Switzerland was one of the host countries.
The national team lost the opening game 0-1 against Czech Republic and then fell 1-2 against Turkey, being automatically eliminated from the competition.
Two years earlier, in the 2006 World Cup, Switzerland set an unusual FIFA record after becoming the first team to be eliminated without getting a single goal against in regulation time. After qualifying first in its group, Switzerland lost to Ukraine in the second round after a dull match. In the penalty kicks, Switzerland failed to score all its penalty attempts and the game ended with a 3-0 score.
That is why the Swiss team is seeking for redemption this year in South Africa and hopes to feel the same glory they experienced in three of their first World Cups appearances (1934, 1938 and 1954), where they reached the quarterfinals.
To achieve that, Switzerland is preparing with a team that combines the experience of veteran players such as the strikers Alexander Frei from FC Basel and Blaise N'Kufo from FC Twente; with the young talent of the VfL Wolfsburg's goalkeeper, Diego Benaglio; and with the players from Bayern Leverkusen's, Tranquillo Barnetta (midfielder) and Eren Derdiyok (forward).
Qualifying Stage
The Swiss football team played in the Group 2 of the UEFA qualifying stage. In this group they faced the teams of Greece, Latvia, Israel, Luxembourg and Moldova. Switzerland began this stage very badly, tying with Israel and losing to Luxembourg.
However, this bad start was a wakeup call for the team. And from that moment on, they did not lose any more games in the classification stage. Moreover, Switzerland had a run of five straight victories before drawing with Latvia and then they got even with Luxembourg with a 3-0 win.
In the tenth and final game of the qualifying round they ended with another draw against Israel, but Switzerland had already done enough points to qualify to South Africa, ending that way in the first place of their group and with the ticket to the 2010 World Cup in their hands.
In the South African World Cup, Switzerland is situated in Group H, where they will face Spain, Honduras and Chile for a place in the second round.
Players
The team's captain, Alexander Frei, is clearly the leader of the Swiss team. Frei is the top scorer in the history of Switzerland with more than 40 goals scored for the national team. During the qualifying stage to South Africa, Frei scored five goals. Moreover, the Swiss offense is complemented with the Twente's striker, Blaise N'Kufo, who is part of the Swiss national team since the year 2000 and also scored five goals during the qualifying stage for this World Cup.
Head Coach
The German Ottmar Hitzfeld directs the Swiss team since 2008. Hitzfeld is a head coach widely recognized and respected in Europe for his achievements. He reached the UEFA Champions League title with two different teams: Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. His greatest successes were achieved as coach of Bayern Munich, where he also attained five league championships and three German Cups.
The coach knows the Swiss' football very well. Back on his playing years he played for the FC Basel and won two league cups. As well, it was in Switzerland where Hitzfeld started his coaching career with the FC Zug in 1983. A year later, he took over the lead of the FC Arau, where he reached its first title as a coach: the 1985 Swiss Cup.
His position as Switzerland head coach is his first experience as a national team coach. After some early missteps, Hitzfeld qualified his team and has high expectations for his first World Cup.