Ricardo Rodriguez will make his 119th international appearance in the round of 16 against Italy. This makes him the third current international to overtake the long-time record holder Heinz Hermann.
The Zurich native, who will turn 32 in August, made his national team debut on October 7, 2011. It could hardly have ended more bitterly: Switzerland lost 2-0 to Wales in Cardiff and thus lost their last chance to qualify for the 2012 European Championship in Poland and Ukraine. Rodriguez himself soon established himself as a left-back.
In the almost 13 years since then, his status has hardly been disputed: Rodriguez has played in all of Switzerland's World Cup (12) and European Championship (13) matches since 2014 - an unparalleled figure. Even more astonishing: Rodriguez has practically always played the full distance at the major tournaments and has only been substituted once so far.
Heinz Hermann, who ended his national team career in 1991, was Switzerland's record international until last year. Since last November, he has been overtaken by Granit Xhaka, Xherdan Shaqiri and now Ricardo Rodriguez. This shows just how influential the current generation has been for the Swiss national team. Goalkeeper Yann Sommer also made it into the top 10 national team players with the most appearances at this European Championship.
SDA
