CHENNAI: On the evening of November 15, 2021, Switzerland thought their place to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar would go down to the wire. With one game to play that evening, they were level on points with toppers Italy. But the latter held the upper hand, thanks to a bigger goal difference (+11 to +9) and goals scored (13 to 11). Both teams also had winnable fixtures: Switzerland at home to Bulgaria and Italy away at Northern Ireland.
But the normally compact Swiss didn't want to die wondering, even if they were fielding a slightly underwhelming team devoid of several of their big name players (Breel Embolo, Manuel Akanji and Granit Xhaka to name three). They went for it, searching for goals on the off chance Northern Ireland trip Italy up at Belfast.
That's what happened. Northern Ireland held Italy while Switzerland pumped four unanswered goals past Bulgaria. It was vindication for the Swiss FA to give the managerial job to Murat Yakin, who had the unenviable job of filling Vladimir Petkovic's big boots.
Yakin, a captain of the national team during his playing days, had had some coaching success, most notably at FC Basel when the likes of Mohamed Salah were plying their trade there. But the appointment wasn't met with any great approval. Yakin, after all, was managing FC Schaffhausen, a club in Switzerland's second tier. Considering Petkovic had taken the country to the quarterfinals of the Euros only a few months ago, this was seen as, at best, a sideways step. But Yakin proved the doubters wrong, topping a group that involved Italy.
A few days after achieving that feat, Yakin sent a personalised 9.3 kg parcel containing the finest Swiss chocolate to Northern Ireland, thanking them for halting Italy's progress. "93 minutes without conceding a goal against the European champions Italy = 9.3kg of Swiss chocolate being sent to Northern Ireland. Sweet thanks, Murat," he said in a video that was posted on the FA's official social media handles. He had delivered on his promise of delivering some of the finest chocolates because of their performance against Italy. After taking over from Petkovic, Yakin had made another promise. "... celebrate further successes."
His team delivered on that on a feisty, madcap night at Stadium 974 on Friday. In one of the contenders for a match of the World Cup, they edged Serbia in a five-goal thriller. Switzerland could have advanced with a draw but depending on the Cameroon - Brazil, they needed a win to guarantee progress.
So, they took Serbia by surprise. They started extremely quickly, having three shots on goal (two on target) in the first minute, a World Cup first since records were being kept. It left Serbia with no option but to attack but they were incredibly loose at the back.
This was supposed to be a high stakes, virtual knock-outs. These two sides were treating it like a game of pick-up basketball. It was end-to-end entertainment, on steroids, with defenders questioning their profession.
It was no surprise that Xherdan Shaqiri got the opener, the right-hand side attacker finishing smartly. His celebration — a shush — reminded the uncomfortable political reality of this fixture. Soon enough, Serbia were ahead thanks to two goals in a breathless nine-minute spell. 1-0 became 1-2 but it became 3-2. The first 48 minutes had produced five goals and 17 shots on goal.
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What sets them apart from some of the other second-tier sides in the global game is the way they are usually able to raise their game whenever they face elite sides. While others try to bring the level of their elite opponents down, Switzerland raise theirs. They have always had the capacity to live and beat the bigger sides — they beat Spain in 2010 — but they failed to advance.
These days? No such problems. They have now advanced to the knockout stages in each of the last three editions. Their results across the last five tournaments (2014, 2018 and 2022 WCs and 2016 and 2021 Euros) illustrate this point better. At the 2020 Euros, they lost to Italy but drew both France (beat them on penalties) and Spain (lost to them on penalties). At the 2018 World Cup, they drew Brazil. At the 2016 Euros, they drew France. In 2014, they lost to Argentina after extra time. Not to mention they twice drew Italy in the qualifying campaign for this World Cup.
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What has worked for them is their ability to always produce results and performances a sum greater than their combined parts. It's a point Xhaka emphasised. “We don’t have (Cristiano) Ronaldos and (Lionel) Messis in the team, we only function when we work together,” Xhaka was quoted as saying by the Guardian last month. “Playing against us is very uncomfortable.” Xhaka's observation is true because some of the key members in this side are fringe players for their club.
It should also be noted that they have a good band of players who have come together at the right time. Three of the players who started the final of their Under-17 World Cup final in 2009 — Xhaka, Haris Seferovic and Ricardo Rodriguez — are a big part of their squad in Qatar. Two years later, at the Under-21 Euros, Xherdan Shaqiri, Yann Sommer, Fabian Frei, Mario Gavranović and Admir Mehmedi came along. Out of the eight, six are in Qatar.
They have also been helped by immigrants who have helped the country carve a football identity. Sixteen of Switzerland's players at the 2021 Euros had a 'migrant background'. This links neatly back to the politics at play and why it's intertwined.
On the field, though, they have gelled together as one and both Xhaka and Yakin will hold this as their greatest strength.
Next up? A meeting with Portugal. At stake is a place in the quarterfinals. Switzerland haven't reached one since when they hosted it in 1954.