Switzerland's national football team's players, coach, FIFA world rankings, World Cup 2022, trophies

Switzerland's national football team's players, coach, FIFA world rankings, World Cup 2022, trophies

Ciku Njuguna
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:01 PM

The Switzerland national football team, governed by the Swiss Football Federation, has represented the country for about 127 years as of 2022. Since its inception, the team has fought to take its current place among the most outstanding national football teams. Dig in and find out more about the A-team's players, captain, coach, FIFA world rankings, World Cup 2022 appearance, titles and trophies.

Switzerland's national football team's players
Nati players celebrate after the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier match against Bulgaria at Swissporarena in Lucerne, Switzerland, 2021. Photo by Harry Langer/DeFodi Images.
Source: Getty Images

Is Switzerland any good at football? This article will give you a detailed account of the team's stats in some of the World Cup and UEFA matches it has been involved in, and its trophies and awards. Scroll down to find out more.

Profile Summary

  • Full name: Switzerland national football team
  • Switzerland's national football team's nickname: A-Team, Nati, Rossocrociati
  • Managed by: Swiss Football Association
  • Founded: 1895
  • Colours: White and red
  • Federation: UEFA
  • Coach: Murat Yakin
  • Captain: Granit Xhaka
  • Most caps: Heinz Hermann (118)
  • Top scorer: Alexander Frei (42)
  • FIFA ranking: 7 (as of December 2021)
  • Highest FIFA ranking: 3 (1993)
  • Lowest FIFA ranking: 83 (1998)
  • FIFA code: SUI
  • Total market value: $241.5 million
  • Stadium: Wankdorf Stadium

History

The Swiss football governing body was founded in 1895. 9 years after, 7 countries, including Switzerland, established FIFA. So, how many times did Switzerland qualify for the World Cup? The team qualified for the FIFA World Cup matches from 1934 to 1966, followed by an absence in the subsequent 6 tournaments.

Historically, the Swiss team has received a lot of criticism for mediocre performances. However, since 2006, the squad's performance has significantly improved with consistent qualifications for the World Cup.

Switzerland's national football team's players
Switzerland fans hold a banner taunting Italy after they failed to qualify for the World Cup at Wembley Stadium in 2022, in London, England. Photo by Eddie Keogh - The FA.
Source: Getty Images

Switzerland is home to the Union of European Football Association, UEFA. However, the team has only played in 5 UEFA EURO Cup championship matches in 1996, 2004, 2008, 2016 and 2020.

What is the farthest Switzerland has gone in the FIFA World Cup? The squad's best performance in the World Cup was in 1934, 1938 and 1954, when the team made it to the quarter-finals.

Switzerland’s national football team's World Cup appearance.

Switzerland qualified for World Cup 2022 tournament after defeating Bulgaria 4-0 in the qualifiers. Reacting to the news, Man of the Match player, Xherdan Shaqiri said,

"Only the best teams in the world can play in the World Cup. Every game will be tough for us, but we know we have the experience in our team. We played many World Cups. With that experience now, we go with confidence in trying to pass first in this group."

Despite widespread scepticism about the team's ability to shine in the matches, FIFA's prediction following the 4-0 victory in the Swiss World Cup qualifiers clearly shows that the Nati squad is ready to give one of its best performances.

Switzerland's national football team's World Cup 2022 fixtures
Here are the World Cup 2022 fixtures for Switzerland. Photo modified by the author.
Source: Original

Switzerland’s national football team's players

Would you like to find out who is on the Swiss national team? Then, let us look at Switzerland’s national football team's roster for the 2021/2022 season, according to Transfermarkt.

Goalkeeper

  • Gregor Kobel
  • Jonas Omlin
  • David von Ballmoos

Defenders

  • Manuel Akanji
  • Nico Elvedi
  • Ricardo Rodríguez
  • Eray Cömert
  • Kevin Mbabu
  • Jordan Lotomba
  • Silvan Widmer

Midfielders

  • Granit Xhaka
  • Fabian Frei
  • Remo Freuler
  • Djibril Sow
  • Michel Aebischer

Wingers

  • Rubén Vargas
  • Steven Zuber
  • Renato Steffen
  • Xherdan Shaqiri

Forwards

  • Breel Embolo
  • Noah Okafor
  • Andi Zeqiri
  • Mario Gavranovic
Switzerland's national football team's players
Goalkeeper Yann celebrates after saving the decisive penalty that led his team to victory in the UEFA Euro 2020 match against France at the National Arena in Romania. Photo by Justin Setterfield.
Source: Getty Images

Switzerland’s national football team's coach and captain

In 2020, Granit Xhaka received the captain's armband following the retirement of Arsenal winger Stephan Lichtsteiner.

Xhaka, who has been regarded as one of the best performing football players, also captains Arsenal. Here is a profile summary of Granit Xhaka.

Granit Xhaka's Profile summary

  • Full name: Granit Xhaka
  • Date of birth: 27 September 1992
  • Age: 29 years old (as of May 2022)
  • Place of birth: Basel, Switzerland
  • Zodiac sign: Libra
  • Position: Defensive midfield
  • Number: 34
  • Current team: Arsenal
  • Caps: 100

Murat Yakin, a former player in the national football team was appointed to the position of Head Coach in 2021. He has also coached FC Frauenfeld, the Grasshoppers, FC Thun, FC Luzern, FC Basel, Spartak Moscow, FC Schaffhausen, and FC Sion.

Here is a profile summary of the Switzerland manager.

Murat Yakin's profile summary

  • Full name: Murat Yakin
  • Date of birth: 15 September 1974
  • Age: 47 years old (as of May 2022)
  • Place of birth: Basel, Switzerland
  • Zodiac sign: Virgo
  • Appointed: 9 August 2021
  • Contract until: 14 July 2024
  • Preferred formation: 4-4-2 Diamond
  • Win percentage: 47.8%
Switzerland's national football team's captain and coach
Head coach Murat Yakin and team skipper Granit Xhaka. Photo by Marcio Machado/Eurasia Sports Images and Baptiste Fernandez/Icon Sport.
Source: Getty Images

Who are the best Swiss footballers ever?

Being one of the oldest national football teams, the A team has some of the best soccer players. Here are the profile summaries of Alexander Frei, the top Swiss goalscorer of all time, and Heinz Hermann, the most capped player in the history of the team.

Alexander Frei's profile summary

  • Full name: Alexander Frei
  • Date of birth: 15 July 1979
  • Place of birth: Basel, Switzerland
  • Position: Central forward
  • Caps: 84
  • Goals: 42
  • Titles and trophies: European participant (2), World Cup participant (2), Footballer of the Year (3)

Heinz Hermann's profile summary

  • Full name: Heinz Hermann
  • Date of birth: 28 March 1958
  • Place of birth: Zürich, Switzerland
  • Position: Central midfield
  • Caps: 118
  • Goals: 15
  • Titles and trophies: Footballer of the Year (5)
Switzerland's national football team's players
The Nati players run to celebrate after winning the UEFA EURO 2020 match against France at the National Arena in Bucharest, 2021. Photo by Marko Djurica/AFP POOL.
Source: Getty Images

Switzerland’s national football team's world rankings

Where is Switzerland ranked in football? The latest FIFA rankings place the Nati in the 14th position with 1635.32 points.

Honours

Is Switzerland a good soccer team? Here is a list of some of Switzerland’s national football team's trophies and awards.

  • 1924 Summer Olympics Paris - silver medal
  • 2002 UEFA under-17 winners
  • 2009 FIFA under-17 World Cup winners
  • 2011 UEFA EURO under-21 - second place

Although the senior Switzerland national football team has not lived up to expectations, the 2022 Qatar World Cup offers the squad an excellent opportunity to prove critics wrong. So, who are you rooting for in the fast-approaching World Cup?

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Authors
Ciku Njuguna photo
Ciku Njuguna
Ciku Njuguna is a journalist with 3 year’s experience in content creation based in Kenya. She currently covers sports personnel as well as team biographies.