Ready for a sensation? Swiss squad in form check ahead of the cracker duels against Germany and England

blue Sport takes a closer look at the national team players called up for the international matches against Germany and England and shows you how they are performing at club level and what they have achieved in the national team so far.

Two tough challenges await the Swiss national team at the end of the year. Like two years ago, just before the 2022 European Championship, Switzerland will test against Germany and England. Two and a half years ago, the national team lost 7-0 to Germany and 4-0 to England. While Switzerland were eliminated from the group, England and Germany faced each other in the European Championship final a month later, with the Lionesses coming out on top 2-1.

Switzerland have never won against either team. 17 defeats and 1 draw (1988 in the first head-to-head) against Germany with a goal difference of 4:87 and 10 defeats and 1 draw (2010 at the Algarve Cup) against England with a goal difference of 6:34 speak for themselves. After the games against Australia (1:1) and France (2:1), the Nati-Cracks enter the Nati-Camp on Monday morning with a lot of self-confidence despite the difficult starting position.

Goalkeepers

 

Elvira Herzog

Herzog failed with RB Leipzig in the sixteenth final of the DFB Cup against lower-ranked Union Berlin in September, which is why she had no game last weekend. In the national team, however, Herzog will probably keep goal against both Germany and England, as Pia Sundhage named her as the current number 1 when the squad was announced. With a view to the home European Championships next summer, however, this merely means that she is in pole position, but there is no guarantee of a regular place.

 

Livia Peng

Peng is the undisputed No. 1 at Werder Bremen, while Elvira Herzog is her partner in the national team. This weekend, Peng will also be on the bench at the club, as Belgian Diede Lemey is allowed to play in the DFB Cup against lower-ranked Fortuna Köln.

 

Nadine Böhi

In her first 11 Super League games, the FC St.Gallen goalkeeper has only conceded 7 goals. Böhi, who celebrated her 21st birthday last week, will be well rested for the national team, as the only Super League match this weekend is between YB and Servette. All other matches have been postponed due to unplayable pitches.

Defenders

 

Viola Calligaris

Calligaris is a mainstay in the three-man defense for the Serie A leaders. Despite two recent defeats to Arsenal, Juve still have a chance of reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League, although the signs are that they will be eliminated after the group stage. In the national team, the 28-year-old is a safe bet and extremely dangerous for a defender. She has already scored 8 goals in 58 international matches, 3 of them in the last European Championship qualifiers, making her Switzerland's top scorer ahead of Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic (2) and Luana Bühler (2), who is also a defender and absent due to injury. There is currently no way around Calligaris.

 

Julia Stierli

On Sunday, Stierli was eliminated from the DFB Cup, losing 2-1 to reigning champions Bayern Munich, with Stierli once again playing in central defense. In the absence of Luana Bühler, she is likely to take her place. The 27-year-old made her debut for the national team back in 2017, was a regular at times and then second choice again. At Euro 2022, she will only be substituted in the last match, although she will still play an important role in the qualifiers. A year later, it was the exact opposite: Stierli played very little in the qualifiers, but then didn't miss a second of the World Cup and did a good job. With a view to the home European Championships, anything is possible and she will definitely be there, provided she doesn't get injured and is still seeded at Freiburg.

 

Noelle Maritz

The 28-year-old has been on the bench three times recently before returning to the starting eleven in the 1-0 League Cup defeat to Tottenham on Saturday and, as so often, playing the full distance. Fellow international Luana Bühler is injured at Spurs and will also miss the international matches. Maritz has been an international since 2013 and impresses with her strength in tackles, ball security, passing quality and versatility. Maritz can play all positions in defense and is even an option in central midfield or on the wing in an emergency. In the last two games against Australia and France, she played at left back.

 

Nadine Riesen

The 24-year-old alternates between starting eleven and substitute appearances both at Frankfurt, currently second in the Bundesliga, and in the national team. At the weekend, she started from the beginning in the 2:0 win in the DFB Cup away against Union Berlin. Riesen is a power footballer who sprints tirelessly up and down the line, preferably on the left, and also likes to go for the finish.

 

Larina Baumann

Baumann made her debut for the national team under Sundhage in May of this year. She has since made four appearances, and the 26-year-old has even started three times. Against France, she sat on the bench for the last match, but four days earlier she was substituted fifteen minutes before the end and almost became the match-winner. In the 90th minute, she hit the ball against the crossbar from outside the sixteen. The full-back is an undisputed regular at FC St.Gallen.

 

Lara Marti

Lara Marti, who made her national team debut over five years ago, often only makes partial appearances for RB Leipzig. Marti is also in the squad for the 2022 European Championship and the 2023 World Cup, but only makes one brief appearance at both tournaments. She accepts her role without ever running the risk of spreading bad vibes. A plus point that should not be underestimated, also with a view to a nomination for the home European Championship. Marti may not be THE difference-maker, but she can always be relied on. She showed that recently when she played a part against France.

A gift for every coachLara Marti is much more important for the national team than you think

Midfielder

 

Riola Xhemaili

"Somewhat surprisingly, Riola Xhemaili, who has blossomed again at PSV Eindhoven recently, has not been called up for the national team," wrote blue Sport after the squad announcement. At this point, she has collected four points in 7 league games (2 goals, 2 assists). The following Saturday, Xhemaili even scored a brace in the top match of the round against Utrecht, scoring the goals to make it 1-2 and 2-2. In the end, however, Ajax lost 3-2 and went top of the table. Following the withdrawal of captain Lia Wälti, Xhemaili now gets her chance to showcase herself.

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Smilla Vallotto

Vallotto, then still under Inka Grings, was called up for the national team for the first time in February 2023. However, she only made her debut in September of the previous year as part of the Nations League. And she immediately impressed in the national team jersey. The 20-year-old has now played 14 times for Switzerland. Although the season in Sweden ended on November 9, Vallotto has played two games since then because Hammarby are in the Champions League. For the dethroned champions, the high-class technician is sometimes in the starting eleven, sometimes she comes off the bench. But she can't complain about a lack of match practice. The situation is similar in the national team.

 

Sydney Schertenleib

The 17-year-old is being trained at FC Barcelona, arguably the best club in the world, where she can learn from world champions and world footballers. For the time being, however, she will mainly gain match practice in the second team, which was already communicated when she signed her contract in the summer. However, she has already received one or two treats. In November, she was substituted three times for the professionals. Schertenleib replaced Alexia Putellas, the 2021 and 2022 World Player of the Year, on each occasion. She has also scored a goal in her four international appearances to date. Schertenleib is above all a promise for the future and must first earn further appearances in the national team.

 

Seraina Piubel

Piubel made her fifth consecutive start in the Women's League Cup against London City Lionesses on Sunday. She was substituted in the 68th minute with the score at 1-1 and then watched from outside the box as her team stepped up a gear and ultimately won 4-1 in commanding fashion.

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After initial difficulties - Piubel moved from FCZ to West Ham United for the new season - the 24-year-old has fought for a regular place at the Premier League club. She is still lacking her scoring qualities, but sooner or later the knot will burst. Piubel was not involved in the last move and is keen to show Sundhage that she belongs in the team.

 

Meriame Terchoun

Mostly a substitute at the start of the season, Terchoun has recently started twice for Dijon. She then scored her first goal of the season against Guingamp. Last weekend, however, the fourth-placed team went down 6-1 in Paris against PSG. Terchoun, who made her debut for the national team back in 2015, is in good form and can hope for further appearances. If the 29-year-old had not suffered four cruciate ligament ruptures in her career, she would probably be in the hundred club today. But she has proven more than any other player that she doesn't let setbacks get her down and always gets back up. When she arrives at the national team camp in Pfäffikon, Terchoun provides the first ray of hope with her bright orange winter jacket.

 

Lydia Andrade

Andrade has scored as many goals (1 goal and 2 assists) as yellow cards this season. The 25-year-old is usually in the starting eleven for Leipzig and brings a lot of drive to the game going forward, but also uncompromisingly gets into tackles without the ball on her feet. She made her debut for the national team in the European Championship qualifiers in April and has now made four international appearances, playing both up front and on the wing. She did not make an appearance in the last national team match.

 

Alena Bienz

Bienz had time to recharge her batteries at the weekend, as Cologne are no longer in the DFB Cup. The 21-year-old is also gaining plenty of match practice with Cologne in her 3rd Bundesliga season, but is going through difficult times with the team. Cologne have not won any of their first ten league games and have picked up just two points. The goal difference of 8:31 is also devastating. Bienz was substituted twice in the European Championship qualifiers and was even allowed to play from the start in a test match against Poland in February. For Bienz, it is primarily about gaining experience. It would already be a success for her if she were called up to the European Championship squad next summer.

 

Sandrine Mauron

The 27-year-old pulls the strings in central midfield at Servette. On Saturday, she was substituted in the 67th minute of the 4:0 gala in the Wankdorf with the score at 2:0. Mauron made her debut for the national team in 2016 as part of the Olympic qualifiers. She played in every match at the 2022 European Championship and the 2023 World Cup, but never from the start. Mauron has only made 15 appearances in the national team starting eleven, but she is indispensable. The former Frankfurt player (2019 to 2022) can always be relied on and her word carries weight. As long as Mauron plays for Servette, her status is unlikely to change much, but it looks as though she is quite content with her current role.

 

Coumba Sow

The 30-year-old plays in midfield for FC Basel and has played a major role in helping her club dream of their first ever league title. In the national team, however, the competition is fiercer. When it comes to a European Championship nomination, Sow has something over many of her national team colleagues: she has already shown that she knows how to deal with pressure situations. At Euro 2022, she gave Switzerland the lead in the 2nd minute of the opening game against Portugal (2:2) and the following year she also shone in the World Cup opener against the Philippines, scoring the penalty to make it 1:0 and setting up the 2:0.

 

Noemi Ivelj

The 18-year-old has not actually been called up, but has been given a chance after Tottenham defender Luana Bühler withdrew due to injury. Apart from the first game of the season, Ivelj always plays the full distance at GC. She made her national team debut last September in the 5-0 defeat against Spain at the Letzigrund, then still under Inka Grings. Under Pia Sundhage, she will make four more appearances. It is possible that she will get more minutes against Germany and England, but it is highly unlikely that Ivelj, who captained the U17 national team to the semi-finals of the European Championship last May, will be in the starting eleven.

 

Stephanie Waeber

The 23-year-old Swiss player with Peruvian roots has impressed at YB as a central midfielder with outstanding scoring qualities. In the first 10 games, she has already scored 7 goals and set up 1 more. The latest headline in blue Sport: "YB captain in top form: Stephanie Waeber applies for the national team with this dream goal." And indeed: Because captain Wälti has to forfeit with an infection, Waeber moves up to the national team on Monday evening.

Attackers

 

BSC YB

Iman Beney

In 2023, the then 16-year-old Iman Beney was called up for the World Cup, but then suffered a cruciate ligament rupture in training shortly before departure and was out for around a year. Now she is back and, together with Luyet, forms perhaps the most dangerous wing-back pairing in the league. After 11 rounds, Beney has 4 goals and 2 assists. Most recently, she was substituted at the break in the international matches against Australia and France and showed that she has what it takes to become a regular. Sundhage has already hinted that Beney and her congenial YB partner Luyet will get plenty of game time again. However, the latter had to withdraw from the match on Monday due to injury.

 

Juventus Turin

Alisha Lehmann

On Sunday, Lehmann was substituted in the 60th minute of the 4-1 win over Como with the score at 3-1. She is rarely in the starting eleven for the Serie A leaders, but is usually substituted. However, she has yet to play a single minute in the Champions League. She also rarely lives up to her expectations in the national team. In 56 games, Lehmann has only scored 8 goals and has yet to set one up. When Lehmann, who is often referred to as the "most famous female footballer in the world" due to her popularity on social media (16.9 million followers on Instagram), resigned from the national team in the run-up to Euro 2022, there was a huge outcry. In the spring of the following year, however, she resigned. She jumped on the World Cup bandwagon, but hardly got a chance to play in Australia and New Zealand. If the 25-year-old, who has been an international player since 2017, does not step up her game in the coming months, she is likely to be a shaky candidate for participation in the European Championships.

 

Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic

Crnogorcevic is the record international player (161) and record goalscorer (74). She won the Champions League with Frankfurt in 2015 and repeated the feat with Barcelona in 2021 and 2023, where she was under contract from January 2020 to September 2023 and won almost every possible title. After the 2023 World Cup, however, she was sidelined at Barcelona and was also sidelined by Grings in the meantime. In August, Crnogorcevic moved from Atlético Madrid to Seattle Reign, where the 34-year-old was once again a regular starter. However, the last game was a while ago, on November 2, the season ended for her team, which missed out on the playoffs. And so there are certain question marks ahead of the last two international matches of the year. Is she ready for the starting eleven or is she lacking rhythm? Crnogorcevic would definitely like to play another important role at the home European Championships, after which she could call it a day after 16 years as an international.

 

Ramona Bachmann

Bachmann can look back on a career just as successful as Crnogorcevic. She has won titles in Germany, Sweden and England, was voted Swiss Player of the Year in 2009, 2015 and 2019 and now also plays in the USA. She also missed out on the play-offs with Houston Dash and has therefore had to keep fit individually of late. In 151 games for the national team, she has scored 60 goals, although she has not been as dangerous recently and has mainly scored from penalties, as she did recently against France. The 33-year-old, who belongs to the crème de la crème with the ball at her feet, can still help the team. However, she is ill in bed on Wednesday. It is not yet clear whether she will recover in time.

Nati star in baby blissRamona Bachmann and her wife Charlotte are expecting their first child

 

Aurélie Csillag

The 21-year-old was on the standby list, but receives a call on Monday that she can move up. Csillag replaces Naomi Luyet, who has been ruled out due to pelvic problems. Most recently, Csillag was always in the starting eleven at FC Basel. Despite her appealing performances, she still has a lot of room for improvement in terms of scoring points, as 1 goal in 7 Super League games is not enough for a national team striker. She made her international debut in April 2023 and has made four more appearances since then. However, Csillag has yet to score or set up a goal. Maybe it will work out against Germany or England of all teams ...

Noemi Ivelj (for Luana Bühler), Aurélie Csillag (for Naomi Luyet), Stephanie Waeber (for Lia Wälti) and Riola Xhemaili (for Géraldine Reuteler) have already been called up. The only remaining outfield player on the standby list is Amira Arfaoui, while Noemi Benz and Laura Schneider are two goalkeepers on standby.

 

Amira Arfaoui

The 25-year-old striker Amira Arfaoui is approaching her top form a little too late. On Saturday, she scored in the cup round of 16 against Fortuna Köln to make the final score 3:0. Five days earlier, she shone in the league against Cologne (4:1) with an assist and a goal in her 13-minute appearance. It was Arfaoui's first goal of the season.

 

Noemi Benz

The 20-year-old is FCZ's number one and has already made five substitute appearances for the national team, but has never played. This is unlikely to change any time soon.

 

Laura Schneider

A little further away from the national team is Lucerne goalkeeper Laura Schneider, who has been on the substitutes' bench four times in the 2023 national team but has never made an appearance. At the age of 28, she is the oldest goalkeeper in the national team and is currently probably only number 5. The chances of her standing between the posts in a national team shirt one day are vanishingly small.

 

Lia Wälti (C)

Wälti has been a national team player since 2012 and has started 115 of her 121 international appearances to date. As at Arsenal, one of the best clubs in the world, Wälti is also the focal point in central midfield for the national team. The national team captain's consistency is impressive and she is one of those few players who is simply irreplaceable.

Appeal from the hospitalLia Wälti: "Please take care of yourselves and never ignore the small signs"

But that is exactly what the women's national team must do for the last two international matches: Replace Lia Wälti. The 31-year-old from Bern is suffering from an infection and will not be able to take part in the games against Germany and England. In her place, national coach Pia Sundhage will field Stephanie Waeber from BSC YB Women for the first time. The 23-year-old Tafersner will join the team on Monday evening.

 

Luana Bühler

The Tottenham defender is set to play in central defense for the national team. However, two days after the squad was announced, she had to withdraw. Knee problems are bothering her.

 

Naomi Luyet

Luyet is the discovery of the last few international matches and scores a dream goal to lead the Nati to victory against France. Four days earlier, she was substituted at the break because she played so well that Sundhage had enough answers, as the national team coach explained after the game. In the league, however, things have faltered since then. In the three games after the national team break, the league's top scorer (8 goals) has contributed just one assist and has picked up just two points from three games with YB. On Saturday, in the 4-0 defeat in the top-of-the-table clash against Servette, Luyet once again failed to make an impact. And now Luyet, who won the "Best Newcomer of 2024" award at last week's "Bärnchampion" competition, is out injured. Perhaps that's exactly what she needs now: a breather so that she can hit the ground running again.

 

Géraldine Reuteler

Reuteler has been an international since February 2017 and already has 73 caps to her name. Many more are likely to come, as she is only 25 years old. Reuteler is an undisputed regular at top club Eintracht Frankfurt, where she is versatile and not easy for opponents to count out. Against Australia, she shone with excellent passes and ultimately also scored goals. "It was about time I scored again," she said after her 12th goal in a national team jersey, her first in almost two years. Four days later, Reuteler caught the eye against France with a sensational tackle - something she also has in her repertoire. The fact that she had to throw in the towel on Tuesday due to muscular complaints in her left calf was another blow for the national team.

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