Switzerland – World Cup 2010 Preview #32 (Group H)

Switzerland

Appearances at World Cup finals: 8 – South Africa represents Switzerland’s 9th appearance at World Cup finals.

Best ever performance: Quarter finalists in 1934, 1938 and 1954. 56 years on can this Switzerland side emulate or better that record?

Famous moment in WC history: A 4-1 win over Italy in 1954 was just one step in Switzerland’s path to the quarter finals as host nation. To celebrate FIFA’s 50th anniversary Switzerland, home of the organisation’s governing body, were handed the responsibility of hosting the tournament, and the team impressed in making it to the quarter finals.

Josef ‘Sepp’ Hügi scored six goals in the tournament, including 2 in that famous win over Italy.

The Lowdown: If the recent Under-17s World Cup is anything to go by, Swiss football is on the up. Unfortunately for Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld however, this World Cup comes too early for that squad of promising young talent. The likes of Haris Seferovic and Nassim Ben-Khalifa will have to wait until 2014 at the earliest to represent the Schweizer Nati.

Nonetheless, under the guise of disciplinarian Hitzfeld, Switzerland have prospered in recent years and go into the World Cup 2010 not to be taken lightly. Though perhaps not as technically gifted or fluid in their passing as group rivals Spain, Honduras and Chile, Hitzfeld has instilled a focus and winning mentality that has seen the Swiss prosper. Whether the determination emanating from the squad can lift them enough to see Switzerland qualify remains to be seen.

Tactically, Hitzfeld has for some time favoured a 4-4-2 formation, and will stick to that setup in South Africa. The back four will likely see a combination of Senderos, Grichting, Magnin and Lichtsteiner, while the midfield includes key players like Tranquillo Barnetta and Udinese’s Gokhan Inler. Several players in Switzerland’s midfield are defensively minded (Fernandes, Inler and Huggel to name but a few) so the onus will be on Barnetta and West Ham’s Valon Behrami to provide a spark at important moments.

In attack, Blaise Nkufo and Alexander Frei are the main men after forging an impressive partnership that saw them score 10 goals between them. With Marco Streller injured and Hakan Yakin now in the latter stages of his career, Nkufo and Frei will be the likely starters upfront, injuries permitting. After an impressive season in Germany with Bayer Leverkusen, Eren Derdiyok will provide competition for places. His aerial threat will come in handy.

The worry for Hitzfeld will be creativity, so I expect Yakin to be a regular wild card option from the bench. With Frei and Nkufo also in their thirties, Derdiyok is likely to see game time too.

Qualification: Switzerland topped a group that included Greece, Latvia, Israel, Luxembourg and Moldova to make it to the World Cup, and though there were a few scares along the way, generally their progress was fairly straightforward. They lost just one game – a shock 2-1 defeat at home to Luxembourg.

Top scorer in qualifying: Alexander Frei – 5 goals.

All-time World Cup finals top scorer: Josef Hügi – 6 goals.

The Manager: Ottmar Hitzfeld – After Jose Mourinho’s achievements with Internazionale this season, Hitzfeld is now one of 3 managers to win the European Cup with two different clubs. Though German, Hitzfeld was born near the Swiss border and has good command of the local Swiss dialect – always a help. Hugely successful wherever he has been, winning league titles with Grasshopper Zurich, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, Hitzfeld leads the Swiss into their second consecutive World Cup after a previous 12 year absence.

Key Player: Tranquillo Barnetta – a hard running, technically gifted midfielder, his presence in the centre of the park is of paramount importance to Switzerland. An ever-present in qualifying, Barnetta is also fresh off the back of a good season with Bayer Leverkusen.

One to Watch: Eren Derdiyok – The young Bayer Leverkusen striker looks like one for the future, a tall, rangy striker of Turkish descent. With Basle’s Marco Streller ruled out of the tournament an opening may present itself for Derdiyok to establish himself further with the national team.

On the move?: Philippe Senderos – will join Roy Hodgson at Fulham after the World Cup.

This concludes our comprehensive team-by-team World Cup 2010 previews on Just Football. To access all our World Cup coverage in one handy place head to our World Cup 2010 page. And if you haven’t done so already, listen to our brand new World Cup podcast.

Group H, Previews, Switzerland, World Cup 2010