Switzerland have been regulars in the round of 16 at major tournaments over the past ten years, but have only made it through once
Image: Keystone
2014 in São Paulo: Blerim Dzemaili heads the ball inches past the post in the round of 16 against Argentina
Image: Keystone
2016 in Saint-Etienne: Granit Xhaka receives consolation from his teammates after missing a penalty against Poland
Image: Keystone
2018 in St. Petersburg: An agonizingly boring out against Sweden
Image: Keystone
2021 in Bucharest: The Swiss jubilation after the penalty win against France
Image: Keystone
2021 in St. Petersburg: Spain's goalkeeper Unai Simon stops Fabian Schär's penalty
Image: Keystone
2022 in Lusail: Gonçalo Ramos shoots Switzerland into a debacle with a hat-trick
Image: Keystone
Switzerland have been regulars in the round of 16 at major tournaments over the past ten years, but have only made it through once
Image: Keystone
2014 in São Paulo: Blerim Dzemaili heads the ball inches past the post in the round of 16 against Argentina
Image: Keystone
2016 in Saint-Etienne: Granit Xhaka receives consolation from his teammates after missing a penalty against Poland
Image: Keystone
2018 in St. Petersburg: An agonizingly boring out against Sweden
Image: Keystone
2021 in Bucharest: The Swiss jubilation after the penalty win against France
Image: Keystone
2021 in St. Petersburg: Spain's goalkeeper Unai Simon stops Fabian Schär's penalty
Image: Keystone
2022 in Lusail: Gonçalo Ramos shoots Switzerland into a debacle with a hat-trick
Image: Keystone
The Swiss national team will play its seventh knockout round match in the last ten years in Berlin on Saturday. A look back at the previous six from São Paulo to Qatar.
A blow in São Paulo
2014 World Cup: Switzerland - Argentina 0:1 - Corinthians Arena, São Paulo - 63,255 spectators. - Goal: 118. Di Maria 0:1.
The game: Switzerland kept Lionel Messi's Argentina at bay for a good 117 minutes. Then the exceptional player sprinted across half the pitch and, together with Angel Di Maria, dashed Switzerland's hopes in their last game under coach Ottmar Hitzfeld. Almost more painful to remember than Di Maria's goal is the missed opportunity to equalize seconds before the end: Blerim Dzemaili heads the ball just a few centimeters wide from an ideal position.
Players from the current European Championship squad. In action (4): Schär, Rodriguez, Shaqiri, Xhaka. - Not used (1): Sommer. - Coach: Ottmar Hitzfeld.
The quote from the game: "In the last three minutes, I experienced everything that can happen to a coach in his entire life." (Ottmar Hitzfeld)
Miss in Saint-Etienne
Euro 2016: Switzerland - Poland 1:1; 4:5 i.P. - Geoffroy Guichard, Saint-Etienne. - 38'842 spectators. - Goals: 39 Blaszczykowski 0:1. 82 Shaqiri 1:1.
The match: Switzerland dominate the game. After Poland took the lead, Haris Seferovic hit the crossbar before Xherdan Shaqiri equalized with a brilliant side-footed shot from 16 metres. Later, Ricardo Rodriguez and Eren Derdiyok came close to scoring the second Swiss goal. In the penalty shoot-out, all the Poles and all the Swiss scored - apart from Granit Xhaka, who was otherwise outstanding in this tournament. His shot misses the post.
Players from the current European Championship squad. In action (6): Sommer, Schär, Rodriguez, Xhaka, Shaqiri, Embolo. - Not used (2): Elvedi and Zakaria. - Coach: Vladimir Petkovic.
The quote from the game: "Someone has to make the mistake in a penalty shoot-out. Today it was me. But I promise I'll stand up again next time and take another penalty." (Granit Xhaka)
Idle time in St. Petersburg
2018 World Cup: Switzerland - Sweden 0:1 - St. Petersburg. - 64,042 spectators. - Goal: 66 Forsberg 0:1.
The game: After the convincing performance against Serbia, which was hotly debated due to the double eagle, the duel against Sweden was painfully unspectacular. Vladimir Petkovic's team had nothing more than chances from Blerim Dzemaili and Breel Embolo. Sweden were at least efficient at the other end. A shot from Emil Forsberg, deflected unstoppably by Manuel Akanji, decides the game.
Players from the current European Championship squad. In action (7): Sommer, Akanji, Rodriguez, Xhaka, Shaqiri, Embolo, Zuber. Not used (5): Mvogo, Elvedi, Schär, Freuler, Zakaria. - Coach: Vladimir Petkovic.
Match quote: "We'll continue to develop and then we'll try again in two years' time." (Xherdan Shaqiri)
Coronation in Bucharest
European Championship 2021: Switzerland - France 3:3; 5:4 i.P. - Bucharest. - 22'642 spectators. - Goals: 15. Seferovic 1:0. 57. Benzema 1:1. 59. Benzema 1:2. 75. Pogba 1:3. 81. Seferovic 2:3. 90. Gavranovic 3:3.
The game: Giving everything until the end is the Swiss' motto three years after the disappointment against Sweden. In the final minutes of normal time, Haris Seferovic scored his second goal and Mario Gavranovic overturned a 3-1 deficit against the world champions. Switzerland remained as flawless in the penalty shoot-out as they had been during the previous 120 minutes: Gavranovic, Fabian Schär, Manuel Akanji, Ruben Vargas and Admir Mehmedi scored. Kylian Mbappé fails to score against Yann Sommer.
Players from the current European Championship squad. In action (12): Sommer, Elvedi, Akanji, Rodriguez, Widmer, Freuler, Xhaka, Shaqiri, Seferovic, Zuber, Embolo, Vargas, Schär. - Not used (3): Kobel, Mvogo, Zakaria. - Coach: Vladimir Petkovic.
The quote from the game: "The missed penalty, then the two goals conceded within two minutes. Something like that would be difficult for normal people to cope with, but today we were a super team that always believed in itself." (Vladimir Petkovic)
Déjà vu in St. Petersburg
European Championship 2021: Switzerland - Spain 1:1; 1:3 i.P. - St. Petersburg. - 24,764 spectators. - Goals: 8. Zakaria (own goal) 0:1. 68. Shaqiri 1:1.
The match: Granit Xhaka suspended, Breel Embolo injured early on and Remo Freuler sent off after 77 minutes with a harsh red card: The first quarter-final at a major tournament since 1954 does not go ideally. Despite this, Switzerland once again reached the penalty shoot-out in the last match under Vladimir Petkovic. However, unlike the exploit against France, only Mario Gavranovic scored.
Players from the current European Championship squad. In action (12): Sommer, Elvedi, Akanji, Rodriguez, Widmer, Zakaria, Freuler, Shaqiri, Embolo, Vargas, Schär, Zuber. - Not used (2): Kobel, Mvogo, Xhaka (suspended). - Coach: Vladimir Petkovic.
Quote from the game: "If you're not a Swiss fan now, you're beyond help." (ZDF)
Debacle in Lusail
World Cup 2022: Switzerland - Portugal 1:6 (0:2). Lusail. - 83,720 spectators. - Goals: 17. Ramos 1:0. 33. Pepe 2:0. 51. Ramos 3:0. 55. Guerreiro 4:0. 58. Akanji 4:1. 67. Ramos 5:1. Rafael Leão 6:1.
It is the last round of 16 final of this generation around Granit Xhaka and the only one that never allowed a hint of hope. From 0:1 in the 17th minute, everything happened far too quickly for Murat Yakin's team, which had changed tactics at short notice. The only Swiss goal was scored by Manuel Akanji shortly before the end of the first hour, when the score was already 0:4. It took the Portuguese, who were without Cristiano Ronaldo until the final quarter of an hour, less than ten minutes to respond to the Swiss' brief revival: Gonçalo Ramos scored his third goal to make it 5:1. Rafael Leão completed Switzerland's heaviest World Cup defeat with a 6:1 in stoppage time.
Players from the current European Championship squad. In action (12): Sommer, Schär, Akanji, Rodriguez, Freuler, Zakaria, Xhaka, Shaqiri, Vargas, Okafor, Embolo, Jashari. - Not used (7): Kobel, Elvedi, Aebischer, Rieder, Steffen, Zakaria, Widmer (sick). - Coach: Murat Yakin.
The quote from the game: "It felt like we were always one step too late. We can only apologize to the whole of Switzerland." (Remo Freuler)
SDA
