Switzerland National Football Team

Governing body Schweizerischer Fussballverband Affiliated 1904 Stadium St. Jakob-Park (38,512 seats) Manager M. Yakin FIFA Ranking 15

• Live
• Delayed/Repeat

• Squad
• Stats

Goalkeepers
J. Omlin	P. Köhn	Y. Sommer
G. Kobel
Defenders
F. Schär	E. Cömert	M. Akanji Goals: 1
N. Elvedi	R. Rodríguez	S. Widmer Assists: 1
Midfielders
R. Freuler Goals: 1	D. Zakaria	R. Vargas Assists: 1
M. Aebischer	F. Frei	D. Sow Assists: 1
A. Jashari	C. Fassnacht	F. Rieder
G. Xhaka	X. Shaqiri Goals: 1, Assists: 1	E. Fernandes
Attackers
R. Steffen	B. Embolo Goals: 2	N. Okafor
H. Seferović

#	Name	Age								A
Goalkeepers
12	J. Omlin	28	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	0
24	P. Köhn	24	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0
1	Y. Sommer	34	270	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
21	G. Kobel	25	90	1	1	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0
Defenders
22	F. Schär	30	136	2	2	0	1	2	0	0	2	0	0
18	E. Cömert	24	44	2	0	2	0	4	0	0	1	0	0
5	M. Akanji	27	360	4	4	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0
4	N. Elvedi	26	180	2	2	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0
13	R. Rodríguez	30	360	4	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	S. Widmer	29	266	3	3	0	1	0	0	1	1	0	0
Midfielders
8	R. Freuler	30	324	4	4	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
6	D. Zakaria	26	57	2	0	2	0	4	0	0	0	0	0
17	R. Vargas	24	289	4	4	0	4	0	0	1	1	0	0
14	M. Aebischer	25	14	1	0	1	0	4	0	0	0	0	0
20	F. Frei	33	23	2	0	2	0	4	0	0	0	0	0
15	D. Sow	25	269	4	4	0	4	0	0	1	0	0	0
26	A. Jashari	20	1	1	0	1	0	4	0	0	0	0	0
16	C. Fassnacht	29	7	1	0	1	0	4	0	0	0	0	0
25	F. Rieder	20	68	2	1	1	1	3	0	0	1	0	0
10	G. Xhaka	30	360	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
23	X. Shaqiri	31	231	3	3	0	2	1	1	1	0	0	0
2	E. Fernandes	26	143	3	1	2	0	3	0	0	0	0	0
Attackers
11	R. Steffen	31	31	1	0	1	0	3	0	0	0	0	0
7	B. Embolo	25	327	4	4	0	4	0	2	0	0	0	0
19	N. Okafor	22	42	3	0	3	0	3	0	0	0	0	0
9	H. Seferović	30	68	3	0	3	0	4	0	0	0	0	0

It all started out so well for Switzerland. La Nati had won their first nine games in a row, picking up 27 points out of 30 in Group B during qualifying. However, a disappointing last matchday loss to Portugal shoved them down to second place and set up a play-off against Northern Ireland.

Controversy reigned during the two-legged play-off, as Switzerland were granted a spot-kick that some felt they shouldn't. In any case, they went on to win that leg 1-0, and hunkered down defensively to protect their narrow lead to seal their spot at this year's World Cup.

Coach's mission

Vladimir Pektovic will be aiming to prove doubters wrong and to show that Schweizer Nati are not just "lucky" to have sealed their spot. After all, the team were solid during qualifiers until their final matchday loss to Portugal, so clearly do have the quality to cause some kind of impact in Group E. While South American giants Brazil are the big favorites to top their quartet, Switzerland will be certainly to snatch a runners-up spot as they will feel they can match wits with Costa Rica and fellow European side Serbia.

New recruits

23-year-old shot-stopper Yvon Mvogo has never been capped by the senior squad, and while he's certainly the third-choice goalkeeper in this 23-man group, could he possibly make his debut this summer in Russia? Perhaps.

Here he is, alongside the 22 other members who will be featuring for La Nati this summer:

Experienced faces

Juventus defender Stephan Lichtsteiner, who serves as the team's skipper, is one of the more experienced players on this squad. Other veterans include Udinese's Valon Behrami, Bologna's Blerim Dzemaili,  Premier League duo Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka, and AC Milan's Ricardo Rodriguez. Meanwhile, young rising star Breel Embolo will be hoping this could potentially be his breakout tournament.

Full Squad:

Goalkeepers: Roman Burki (Borussia Dortmund), Yvon Mvogo (Leipzig), Yann Sommer (Monchengladbach)

Defenders: Stephan Lichtsteiner (Juventus), Jacques-Francois Moubandje (Toulouse), Ricardo Rodriguez (AC Milan), Fabian Schaer (Deportivo La Coruna), Manuel Akanji (Borussia Dortmund), Johan Djourou (Antalyaspor), Nico Elvedi (Monchengladbach), Michael Lang (Basel)

Midfielders: Valon Behrami (Udinese), Blerim Dzemaili (Bologna), Xherdan Shaqiri (Stoke), Granit Xhaka (Arsenal), Steven Zuber (Hoffenheim), Denis Zakaria (Monchengladbach)Gelson Fernandes (Eintracht Frankfurt), Remo Freuler (Atalanta)

Forwards: Breel Embolo (Schalke), Josip Drmic (Monchengladbach), Mario Gavranovic (Dinamo Zagreb), Haris Seferovic (Benfica)