Switzerland may well cause a few surprises at this World Cup. Manager Ottmar Hitzfeld has named his squad, and it sure looks a strong one. Though they're a little light on experience up front and quality at centre-back, they've got bags of talent across the field.
World Cup 2014 squads: Switzerland name final 23
Switzerland manager Ottmar Hitzfeld has named his World Cup squad, and it’s full of talent.
David Cannon
Though they boast the likes Stephan Lichtsteiner and young up-and-comer Fabian Schär in defence, their their strongest area is almost certainly in midfield. Captain Gökhan Inler partners his experienced Napoli teammates Valon Behrami and Blerim Džemaili, and young Bundesliga duo Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri.
The most experienced player in the squad is Eintracht Frankfurt's winger Tranquillo Barnetta, who has 73 caps; almost double the international experience of their four strikers combined. There's no place in the 23 for the rather more experienced forward Eren Derdiyok, who's left on the standby list.
Goalkeepers: Diego Benaglio (Wolfsburg), Roman Bürki (Grasshopper), Yann Sommer (Basel)
Defenders: Johan Djourou (Hamburg), Michael Lang (Grasshopper), Stephan Lichtsteiner (Juventus), Ricardo Rodríguez (Wolfsburg), Fabian Schär (Basel), Philippe Senderos (Valencia), Steve von Bergen (Young Boys), Reto Ziegler (Sassuolo)
Midfielders: Tranquillo Barnetta (Frankfurt), Valon Behrami (Napoli), Blerim Džemaili (Napoli), Gelson Fernandes (Freiburg), Gökhan Inler (Napoli), Xherdan Shaqiri (Bayern Munich), Valentin Stocker (Basel), Granit Xhaka (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
Forwards: Josip Drmić (Nürnberg), Mario Gavranović (Zürich), Haris Seferović (Real Sociedad), Admir Mehmedi (Freiburg)
Standby
Goalkeeper: Marwin Hitz (Augsburg)
Defenders: Timm Klose (Wolfsburg), Silvan Widmer (Udinese)
Midfielders: Fabian Frei (Basel), Pajtim Kasami (Fulham), Pirmin Schwegler (Frankfurt)
Forwards: Eren Derdiyok (Leverkusen).
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