Switzerland National Football Team

Governing body Schweizerischer Fussballverband Affiliated 1904 Stadium St. Jakob-Park (38,512 seats) Manager V. Petković

• Live

• Squad
• Stats

Goalkeepers
J. Omlin	Y. Sommer	Y. Mvogo
Defenders
L. Benito Goals: 1	E. Cömert	M. Lang
S. Lichtsteiner	M. Akanji	N. Elvedi
R. Rodríguez Goals: 1	F. Moubandje	K. Mbabu
Midfielders
D. Zakaria Goals: 2	M. Aebischer	D. Sow
C. Fassnacht Goals: 1	R. Steffen	G. Xhaka Goals: 2
E. Fernandes Goals: 1
Attackers
R. Vargas Goals: 1	C. Itten Goals: 3	A. Ajeti
H. Seferović Goals: 1

#	Name	Age								A
Goalkeepers
	J. Omlin	25	0	0	0	0	0	8	0		0	0	0
	Y. Sommer	30	720	8	8	0	0	0	0		0	0	0
	Y. Mvogo	25	0	0	0	0	0	8	0		0	0	0
Defenders
	L. Benito	27	199	3	2	1	1	6	1		2	0	0
	E. Cömert	21	25	1	0	1	0	6	0		0	0	0
	M. Lang	28	90	1	1	0	0	5	0		1	0	0
	S. Lichtsteiner	35	318	4	4	0	2	2	0		0	1	0
	M. Akanji	24	605	7	7	0	1	0	0		1	2	0
	N. Elvedi	23	630	7	7	0	0	1	0		0	1	0
	R. Rodríguez	27	674	8	8	0	2	0	1		0	2	0
	F. Moubandje	29	0	0	0	0	0	4	0		0	0	0
	K. Mbabu	24	202	3	2	1	1	6	0		0	1	0
Midfielders
	D. Zakaria	22	690	8	8	0	1	0	2		1	2	0
	M. Aebischer	22	5	1	0	1	0	2	0		0	0	0
	D. Sow	22	48	4	0	4	0	6	0		0	0	0
	C. Fassnacht	26	102	2	1	1	0	5	1		1	0	0
	R. Steffen	28	123	4	1	3	0	7	0		0	1	0
	G. Xhaka	27	693	8	8	0	2	0	2		1	2	0
	E. Fernandes	23	236	4	2	2	1	4	1		0	0	0
Attackers
	R. Vargas	21	179	3	2	1	2	1	1		1	0	0
	C. Itten	22	109	2	1	1	0	1	3		1	0	0
	A. Ajeti	22	265	5	3	2	2	3	0		1	0	0
	H. Seferović	27	270	3	3	0	0	0	1		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)