Qualification history
After failing to qualify for the 1998 FIFA World Cup France™ and the 2002 tournament in Korea and Japan, Switzerland claimed a place at the 2006 edition in next-door Germany. The team coached at the time by Jakob ‘Kobi’ Kuhn edged out Turkey in a dramatic play-off encounter.
Kuhn’s successor Ottmar Hitzfeld, a UEFA Champions League winner with both Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, brought all his cunning and experience to bear as the Swiss booked a ticket to the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. After a dismal start to their campaign, including a home defeat to Luxembourg, the Swiss showed tremendous fighting spirit to top their group by a point from Greece and qualify automatically for the finals.
FIFA World Cup finals history
Switzerland have contested the FIFA World Cup finals nine times to date (1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1994, 2006 and 2010), reaching the last eight on three occasions. However, their most recent appearance at the quarter-final stage came almost 50 years ago, at the 1954 finals on home soil.
Since then, the Swiss have twice made the last sixteen (1994 and 2006), but failed to survive the group stage three times. Their group campaign in 2010 was a bittersweet affair: they handed eventual world champions Spain a 1-0 defeat in their opening fixture, but ultimately packed for home after just three games.
The current crop
The current set-up is shot through with experience. Hitzfeld is one of the most successful coaches in the European game, and the side's key players have long since gone travelling beyond their national borders to the continent’s top leagues. The association has been mindful to nurture a stream of new talent too, as the triumph at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2009 amply proves.
The key players
There is undoubted quality throughout the side, starting with keeper Diego Benaglio, a German championship winner in 2009 with VfL Wolfsburg. Philippe Senderos, Tranquillo Barnetta and Hakan Yakin will spearhead the drive for a tenth appearance at the FIFA World Cup finals, but the established stars will be pushed by a crop of talented newcomers including Nassim Ben Khalifa, Xherdan Shaqiri and Valentin Stocker.
Coach: Ottmar Hitzfeld
Best performances in a FIFA competition: FIFA U-17 World Cup Nigeria 2009 (Winners), FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Dubai 2009 (Runners-up), FIFA World Cup Italy 1934, France 1938, Switzerland 1954 (Quarter-finals)
Former stars: Alexander Frei, Stephane Chapuisat, Johann Vogel
