2022 FIFA World Cup Team Previews: Switzerland
The 2022 FIFA World Cup is less than a month away from kicking off in Qatar. Over the next 32 days, I will be previewing each team that will be taking part in the world’s most-watched event. Check out all of the team previews that have been done so far. Up next is Switzerland.
Switzerland did not get off to a very good start to 2022, going winless in their first five matches. It may not be surprising after a thrilling qualification process that saw “La Nati” qualify on the last day with Italy drawing against Northern Ireland.
However, Switzerland has found its form ahead of the 2022 World Cup by winning their last three matches, including victories over Spain and Portugal. Winning three straight saw the Swiss move up one place to 15th in the FIFA men’s rankings ahead of the tournament.
World Cup Appearances
The 2022 World Cup will be the fifth straight that Switzerland has qualified for after missing out on both the 1998 and 2002 World Cups. This year’s tournament will also be the 12th World Cup appearance for “La Nati” despite missing out on six straight from 1970 to 1990.
Best Finish at a World Cup
Switzerland has not made it past the Round of 16 in any of their recent World Cup appearances. They made it to the quarterfinals three times, with two of them coming before World War II.
In 1934, “La Nati” beat the Netherlands in the Round of 16 but fell 3-2 to Czechoslovakia in the quarterfinals. Four years later, Switzerland beat Germany on penalties, but once again lost in the quarterfinals, this time against Hungary 2-0.
Their most recent quarterfinal appearance came in 1954 when they hosted the World Cup. As hosts, they finished second in their group but lost a high-scoring thriller against Austria in the quarterfinals 7-5. Switzerland’s three quarterfinal appearances are the most by a team to have never advanced to the semifinals.
Key players
The midfield holds the keys to success for Switzerland.
Typically, the team will play with five midfielders and try to control the ball and tempo of play. Leading that midfield is the captain Granit Xhaka. The Arsenal midfielder has been playing tremendously for the Premier League leaders with three goals and three assists in 14 league matches. The other star midfielder that can always find a second gear with “La Nati” is Xherdan Shaqiri. Shaqiri is the team’s leading scorer with 26 goals and is probably their biggest attacking threat.
Both Xhaka and Shaqiri have over 100 caps and the only other player on this Swiss team with that many appearances is left-back Ricardo Rodríguez. Rodríguez will anchor the Swiss back-four with the ever-exciting Yann Sommer in goal.
Manager
Another player turned manager is Murat Yakin. The manager of Switzerland since 2021 played in 49 matches for “La Nati” before becoming a manager in 2006. He was appointed the manager following the 2020 European Championships and under his leadership, Switzerland qualified for the 2022 World Cup in dramatic fashion.
Biggest Group Game – vs. Serbia on Dec. 2
Switzerland’s last match of the group stage against Serbia is by far the most important match in all of Group G. With Brazil as the clear favorite to win the group this match should decide who will go through to the 2022 World Cup knockout stage as the second place team in the group. This match is a toss-up with both teams being relatively equal. “La Nati” is the slightly more experienced side, but that does not guarantee anything.
Prediction
The lack of a true goalscorer will be an issue for Switzerland, especially against a very strong attacking side in Serbia. For that reason, I believe “La Nati” will lose to Serbia and finish third in Group G, meaning they will be going out of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in the group stage. This will be their first group-stage exit since the 2010 World Cup.
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