Appearing in their fifth European Championships, Switzerland enter Euro 2020 hoping to end their hoodoo in knockout football. They have been knocked out in the last 16 in the last two World Cups as well as at Euro 2016 and also lost both matches at the finals tournament of the inaugural UEFA Nations League.
The Red Crosses kick-off their campaign against Wales on the back of five successive victories in 2021, and topped their qualifying group ahead of Denmark.
Group A: Turkey, Italy, Wales, SWITZERLAND
Captain: Granit Xhaka
Head Coach: Vladimir Petković
FIFA Ranking: 13
Best Finish: Round of 16 – 2016
Fixtures:
Wales v SWITZERLAND – 12 June, 14:00 (BST). Olympic Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan.
Italy v SWITZERLAND – 16 June, 20:00 (BST). Stadio Olympico, Rome, Italy.
SWITZERLAND v Turkey – 20 June, 17:00 (BST). Olympic Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan.
Qualification
Drawn in Group D with Denmark, Republic of Ireland, Georgia and Gibraltar, Switzerland progressed to Euro 2020 as group winners. Qualification was far from straightforward however, with late goals blighting generally positive performances, none more so than when Denmark came from 3-0 down to earn a point in the second round of fixtures.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Yvon Mvogo (PSV), Jonas Omlin (Montpellier), Yann Sommer (Mönchengladbach)
Defenders: Manuel Akanji (Dortmund), Loris Benito (Bordeaux), Eray Cömert (Basel), Nico Elvedi (Mönchengladbach), Jordan Lotomba (Nice), Kevin Mbabu (Wolfsburg), Becir Omeragic (Zürich), Ricardo Rodríguez (Torino), Fabian Schär (Newcastle United), Silvan Widmer (Basel)
Midfielders: Christian Fassnacht (Young Boys), Edimilson Fernandes (Mainz), Remo Freuler (Atalanta), Xherdan Shaqiri (Liverpool), Djibril Sow (Frankfurt), Ruben Vargas (Augsburg), Granit Xhaka (Arsenal), Denis Zakaria (Mönchengladbach), Steven Zuber (Frankfurt)
Forwards: Breel Embolo (Mönchengladbach), Mario Gavranović (Dinamo Zagreb), Admir Mehmedi (Wolfsburg), Haris Seferović (Benfica)
Source: UEFA.com
Danger Man – Xherdan Shaqiri
Though he doesn’t feature as often for Liverpool as he may like, Xherdan Shaqiri remains Switzerland’s most dangerous player.
Still just 29, Shaqiri has proved a major source of inspiration in the major tournaments, bagging crucial goals at the 2014 and 2018 World Cups and the last gasp equaliser against Poland that took Switzerland to extra time in the Euro 2016 round of 16.
Seventh in Switzerland’s all-time list of appearances and joint seventh top scorer, the motivation of records alone should be enough to inspire Shaqiri to lead his country in attack once again.
One to watch – Ruben Vargas
22-year-old Vargas has made a big impression since joining German club Augsburg in 2019, becoming the first player of Domincan heritage (his father is from the Dominican Republic) to appear in the Bundesliga.
A rapid and tricky winger, Vargas has the potential to be Euro 2020’s breakout star. With Shaqiri and Vargas on opposite wings, no set of full backs will have an easy time defending against Switzerland.
Premier League Representation
Three of Switzerland’s 26-man squad are based in the Premier League. Liverpool’s Xherdan Shaqiri and Arsenal enforcer Granit Xhaka are joined by Newcastle’s Fabian Schär.
Brighton youngster Andi Zeqiri was in the preliminary squad but did not make the final 26, while Leeds’ Gaetano Berardi and Southampton’s Alexandre Jankewitz are the only other Swiss players to appear in the Premier League in 2020/21
Route to the Final
- If Switzerland top the group, they will play the team who finishes second in Group C (Netherlands, Ukraine, Austria, North Macedonia)
- If Switzerland finish second, they will face the team who finish second in Group B (Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Russia)
- If they finish as one of the four best third place teams, they will play the winner of either Group B, E or F.
After the second round, the draw will depend on which third place teams qualified for the knockout stages.
Stats
- Switzerland exited Euro 2016 despite not losing a game, falling short on penalties against Poland in the last 16.
- Rangers striker Cedric Itten was Switzerland’s top scorer in qualifying (3), but was not selected for the tournament squad.
- Switzerland have won 17 out of 80 matches against their Group A opponents, with five of their wins coming from their seven games against Wales.
- Switzerland have only won two of their 13 games at a European Championships.
