Euro 2020 Profile: Switzerland

A Switzerland fan at the Aviva Stadium ahead of their 1-1 Euro 2020 qualifying draw with the Republic of Ireland on September 5th. 2019.

A Switzerland fan at the Aviva Stadium ahead of their 1-1 Euro 2020 qualifying draw with the Republic of Ireland on September 5th. 2019. Credit: Clare McCahill (ETPhotos)

Team: Switzerland

Manager: Vladimir Petkovic

Group: Group A

Other teams in group: Italy, Turkey

THE SQUAD

The Switzerland squad that kicks off the tournament against Wales in Baku will be arguably the most experienced the country has ever taken to an international tournament.

Longtime captain Stephan Lichtsteiner, seven times a Serie A winner with Juventus, may have retired following the last World Cup but it’s a Swiss side stuffed with caps.

Captain Granit Xhaka may hit the 100-caps mark during the tournament (he sits on 94), while Xherdan Shaqiri is only three caps behind the Roma-bound midfielder.

Goalkeeper Yann Sommer, defenders Ricardo Rodriguez and Fabian Schaer and strikers Haris Seferovic and Admir Mehmedi are also 50+ capped veterans of several tournaments.

What may hamper the Swiss is a number of key players are short gametime: Shaqiri is not a regular at Liverpool, while Schaer and Denis Zakaria are only back from long-term injuries.



On the other hand, exciting young players in Wolfsburg’s Kevin Mbabu (a direct replacement for Lichtsteiner) and Ruben Vargas of Augsburg have emerged in the meantime.

The squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Yvon Mvogo, Jonas Omlin, Yann Sommer

Defenders: Manuel Akanji, Loris Benito, Eray Coemert, Nico Elvedi, Jordan Lotomba, Kevin Mbabu, Becir Omeragic, Ricardo Rodriguez, Fabian Schaer, Silvan Widmer

Midfielders: Edimilson Fernandes, Remo Freuler, Admir Mehmedi, Granit Xhaka, Denis Zakaria, Djibril Sow, Xherdan Shaqiri.

Forwards: Breel Embolo, Christian Fassnacht, Mario Gavranovic, Haris Seferovic, Ruben Vargas, Steven Zuber.



HOW THEY GOT HERE

Deep breath everyone. Switzerland arrived at Euro 2020 as winners of qualifying Group D, finishing ahead of second-placed Denmark and the Republic of Ireland.

A 2-0 victory over Ireland in Geneva, thanks to goals from Haris Seferovic and Edimilson Fernandes, set the Swiss on course for top spot.

The Swiss lost just once in qualifying – a 1-0 defeat away to Denmark – and were involved in a titanic tussle with the same opposition on the opening day.

Goals from Remo Freuler, Xhaka and Breel Embolo saw Denmark lead 3-0 with 16 minutes remaining, but a remarkable finish saw Denmark tie the game up deep in injury time.

Denmark’s draw in Dublin on the final day – they only needed a point to guarantee qualification – saw the Swiss top the group by a point.

They finished with a 6-0 victory away to Gibraltar for a final tally of 17 points, five wins, two draws and one defeat, with 19 goals scored and six conceded.

KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR

It’s been the case for the guts of a decade now but absolutely everything in this Swiss team goes through two players – Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri.

Captain Xhaka is the fulcrum of the team and the slower pace of international football brings out the best in a player who has often been derided during his Arsenal tenure.

Playing just in front of the captain is Liverpool playmaker, another like Xhaka with Kosovar heritage, and he will be key to unlocking stubborn defences in this tournament.

Shaqiri has been a peripheral figure for Jurgen Klopp but the German has always recognised the midfielder has quality few others possess to create something from nothing.

That bit of extra quality will key if a Swiss side who tend not to score a lot of goals are to deliver on the promise they’ve shown over previous tournaments and really advance.

Up front, Seferovic and Gavranovic have decent scoring records but tend to be streaky, so much may depend on the impact of players like Vargas against tired defences.

WHERE THEY ARE PLAYING AND STAYING

The Swiss have chosen to base themselves in Rome for the duration of the group stages, despite the fact they play two of their games in Baku, in Azerbaijan.

This may well be a decisive factor in Switzerland’s group, however, as they will make four back-and-forth flights of 4,500km between Italy and Azerbaijan.

Baku is located two time zomes ahead of Rome and they’ll need to be careful to avoid the effects of jet lag impacting their preparation given the short turnaround between games.

Wales -v- Switzerland, Saturday June 12th (2pm), Olympic Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan.

Italy -v- Switzerland, Wednesday June 16th (8pm), Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy.

Switzerland -v- Turkey, Sunday June 20th (5pm), Olympica Stadium, Baku.

THREE INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE TEAM

Sarajevo-born coach Vladimir Petkovic is a naturalised Swiss who never played top-level football in Europe. He arrived in Switzerland as a 24-year-old law student and worked his way through the lower leagues and into management.

Euro 2020 is Switzerland’s fifth European Championships, having not qualified until 1996, when the Roy Hodgson-managed side drew 1-1 with hosts England on the opening day.

Talisman Xherdan Shaqiri had a hair transplant last year using the same German specialist as his club boss Mister Klopp.

THEIR RECENT FORM

The Swiss went the entirety of 2020 without winning a game on the field, their only success coming thanks to a Covid-19-related walkover against Ukraine in the Nations League.

In 2021, they’ve won five from five, including wins over Bulgaria and Lithuania in their opening World Cup qualifiers.

Tight wins in warm-up friendlies over Finland and the United States were rounded off by a resounding 7-0 hammering of Liechtenstein.

First game:

Wales -v- Switzerland, Saturday June 12th (2pm).