When a national team changes a manager with whom it had good results after seven years, then there is a period of adaptation to the new one, and that period is often followed by somewhat weaker games. Fortunately for the Swiss football team, this was not the case after the departure of Vladimir Petković and the arrival of Murat Jakin.
With Petković on the bench, Switzerland was a regular participant in world and European championships and one of the best selections on the Old Continent. At the previous Euro, in the round of XNUMX, they eliminated the current world champions, the French, and reached the quarter-finals of the continental championship for the first time in history, where Spain was better only after penalty kicks.
The quarter-finals are the ultimate goal in the World Cups - in 1934, 1938 and on home soil in 1954. In the previous one, the "Sajdžijas" passed the group that included Serbia, Brazil and Costa Rica, and then lost to the Swedes in the round of XNUMX.
Brazil and Serbia, along with Cameroon, will be opponents in Qatar, which Switzerland reached thanks to excellent games in the qualifiers in which they won first place in the group ahead of the European champion Italy.
One of the characteristics in the qualifiers was the excellent defense. Switzerland conceded two goals in eight matches, finished the campaign undefeated, so it's no wonder that they won a direct trip to the World Cup.
Years ago, defense was a key segment in the team's game. Petković and his predecessors created a defensive rampart, so Jakin did not want to change what works well. After all, after losing to Ukraine on penalties in the round of 2006 of the World Cup in Germany in XNUMX, Switzerland became the first and to this day the only team to be eliminated from the World Cup without conceding a goal.
And one of the most responsible for the impenetrability of the defense is goalkeeper Jan Zomer. The goalkeeper of Borussia Mönchengladbach has been one of the best goalkeepers in the Bundesliga for years, and he had outstanding games in the national team jersey. Jakin can only worry about the form of the 33-year-old player, who recently injured his ankle, so he missed several games in Germany.
Zomer is exactly one of the Swiss veterans who will be in Qatar. And the backbone of the team are two other veterans - leader and captain Granit Džaka, and Đerdan Šaćiri.
Xhaka is playing great at Arsenal, this is one of his best seasons in the Premier League, while Shaqiri is honing his form for the World Cup in Chicago. Shaqiri is known for some great football moves, in 2016 he scored one of the most beautiful goals in the European championships, but his powers have faded in the meantime and he is far from the form that graced him during his career in Europe.
The upcoming World Cup will be the last chance for this generation of Swiss footballers to make a breakthrough at the championships.
In the attack, the first choice is Bril Embolo, who plays well in Monaco this season, and his games in League 1 suggest that he could continue with good performances in Qatar. The young Chelsea midfielder Denis Zakaria, who recently recovered from injury and scored a goal on his debut for the London club, is also on the list.
The main assets in the defense are Manuel Akandzi (Manchester City), Ricardo Rodríguez (Torino) and Fabian Scherr (Newcastle).
A rising star and highly anticipated player is Noah Okafor. The Salzburg footballer scored 10 goals this season, and before leaving for Austria, he went through the Basel academy. He is known for his intelligent use of space and pressure on opposing defenders. He scored two goals for the national team, and is expected to increase that number in Qatar.
The Swiss will play their first match at the World Cup against Cameroon on November 24 at the "Al Bayt" stadium. Four days later they will face the Brazilians, and the last in the group, perhaps the decisive one, will be the match against Serbia on December 2 at the "974" stadium.
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