World Cup 2022 Qatar -Groups and Teams

The teams at the 2022 World Cup – Switzerland (Group G)

The World Cup in Qatar will be Switzerland’s 12th participation in a World Cup finals. Switzerland has not missed out on qualification since 2006. In 1954, Switzerland hosted a World Cup itself, where it set its own record from the 1934 and 1938 World Cups by reaching the quarterfinals. In 2014 in Brazil and 2018 in Russia, they both reached the round of 16. In the most recently held World Cup, they lost 1-0 to Sweden after passing the preliminary round in St. Petersburg.

The World Cup in Qatar will be Switzerland’s 12th participation in a World Cup finals. Switzerland has not missed out on qualification since 2006. In 1954, Switzerland hosted a World Cup itself, where it set its own record from the 1934 and 1938 World Cups by reaching the quarterfinals. In 2014 in Brazil and 2018 in Russia, they both reached the round of 16. In the most recently held World Cup, they lost 1-0 to Sweden after passing the preliminary round in St. Petersburg.

The qualification route

In World Cup qualifying Group C, Switzerland faced teams from Italy, Northern Ireland, Bulgaria and Lithuania. Switzerland drew twice against reigning European champions Italy and otherwise did not lose another game. The Italians, who also remained unbeaten, ended up winning one game less than the Swiss and thus had to cede first place and direct qualification for the World Cup to Switzerland.

Stars

For many years, the Swiss Nati proved to be a very balanced construct with no single major standout player. However, Xherdan Shaqiri, who recently moved from Liverpool FC to Chicago Fire in the MLS, remains a key player who can provide crucial differences. Switzerland has two outstanding players at the goalkeeping position, where long-time regular goalkeeper Yann Sommer (Borussia M’Gladbach) is battling with Dortmund’s Gregor Kobel for the spot in goal.

The coach

After the European Championship in the summer of 2021, former international Murat Yakin took over as coach from the successful Vladimir Petkovic. Since then, Yakin has been on the sidelines for 13 games, picking up a points average of 1.46 – losing four of six games in 2022 up to and including July, three of them in the UEFA Nations League. Prior to his stint, Yakin spent many years as a club coach, including stints at FC Basel, Grasshoppers Zurich and Spartak Moscow. His preferred formation is a 4-2-3-1.

Best lineup

Yann Sommer (Borussia M’Gladbach) – Kevin Mbabu (Vfl Wolfsburg), Manuel Akanji (Borussia Dortmund), Nico Elvedi (Borussia M’Gladbach), Ricardo Rodriguez (FC Torino) – Granit Xhaka (Arsenal London), Djibril Sow (Eintracht Frankfurt) – Xherdan Shaqiri (Chicago Fire), Remo Freuler (Atalanta Bergamo), Ruben Vargas (FC Augsburg) – Breel Embolo (AS Monaco)

World Cup 2022

Switzerland has been drawn in Group G for the 2022 World Cup and will face old acquaintances there: Brazil and Serbia were already opponents at the 2018 World Cup, back then there was a surprising draw against the title favorites from Brazil and in addition a win against Serbia. Another opponent is Cameroon.

Switzerland is a very disciplined team with a lot of Bundesliga experience. With the exception of Remo Freuler from Atalanta Bergamo, all the players in the inner circle of potential regulars have already played in Germany or are still under contract there.

In a way, they are also comparable to a Bundesliga team from the upper midfield, a bit like Freiburg, a bit like Mainz – on a good day, they can annoy the favorites with their team unity, but on other days there are clear defeats.

They did manage to hold their own against Brazil and Serbia in 2018, but things look very different again in 2022. Serbia has improved a lot, the Brazilians seem to be much stronger than in the past tournament, at least on paper. The Swiss do not have an outstanding player in their ranks, a real goal scorer is also missing and an excellent goalkeeper alone is not enough to go far in the tournament. Unlike his predecessors Hitzfeld and Petkovic, Murat Yakin has not been able to convince in any of his coaching stations.

Therefore, the predictions for Switzerland are gloomy: Brazil, Serbia and the strong Cameroon seem to be too strong for Switzerland to qualify for the round of 16.