2022 World Cup: Country Profile - Switzerland

Lausanne, Nov 8 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Nov, 2022 ) :Factfile on Switerland who are in World Cup Group G: Best World Cup performance: Quarter-finals in 1934, 1938 and 1954 Other notable performances: Euro 2020 quarter-finalists FIFA ranking: 15 Main clubs: FC Basel, Young Boys, FC Zurich, Grasshopper, Servette How they qualified: Winners of European qualifying Group C Coach: Murat Yakin, 48, was appointed in August last year to succeed Vladimir Petkovic, who had taken the team to the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 with a penalty shoot-out win over France along the way. Yakin, who has Turkish roots, was a defender who won 49 caps for Switzerland and notably played for Grasshopper and Basel. His brother Hakan also played for the 'Nati'. Yakin has coached several Swiss clubs, winning two league titles with Basel. He also had a spell at Spartak Moscow in 2014/15. His Swiss side topped their qualifying group ahead of Italy.

Key player: Forward Breel Embolo, 25, has pace and power in abundance and is hoping to take his early-season form with him to Qatar after leaving Borussia Moenchengladbach for Monaco in the summer. Born in Cameroon, he will get the chance to face the country of his birth in Switzerland's opening group game. Embolo moved to Europe with his mother as a boy and went on to start his footballing career at Basel, where he was given his debut by Yakin.

A big-money move to Schalke in 2016 was marred by injuries but as long as he stays fit he could have a key role to play in Qatar.

Group fixtures November 24: Switzerland v Cameroon November 28: Brazil v Switzerland December 2: Serbia v Switzerland Probable squad Goalkeepers: Yann Sommer (Borussia Moenchengladbach/GER), Jonas Omlin (Montpellier/FRA), Gregor Kobel (Borussia Dortmund/GER), Yvon Mvogo (Lorient/FRA) Defenders: Manuel Akanji (Manchester City/ENG), Nico Elvedi (Borussia Moenchengladbach/GER), Fabian Schaer (Newcastle United/ENG), Eray Comert (Valencia/ESP), Silvan Widmer (Mainz/GER), Kevin Mbabu (Fulham/ENG), Ricardo Rodriguez (Torino/ITA), Jordan Lotomba (Nice/FRA)Midfielders: Remo Freuler (Nottingham Forest/ENG), Granit Xhaka (Arsenal/ENG), Djibril Sow (Eintracht Frankfurt/GER), Michel Aebischer (Bologna/ITA), Fabian Frei (Basel/SUI), Denis Zakaria (Chelsea/ENG)Forwards: Breel Embolo (Monaco/FRA), Haris Seferovic (Galatasaray/TUR), Cedric Itten (Young Boys), Xherdan Shaqiri (Chicago Fire/USA), Noah Okafor (Salzburg/AUT), Ruben Vargas (Augsburg/GER), Renato Steffen (Lugano), Steven Zuber (AEK Athens/GRE).