Switzerland Football History
Governed by the Swiss Football Association, the Swiss national football team made its FIFA World Cup debut in the second FIFA World Cup of 1934 held in Italy. Its ASF-SFV logo is an abbreviation of (ASF) Association Suisse de Football in French and Associazione Svizzera di Football in Italian and SFV is for Schweizerischer Fussballverband in German. Popularly known as Schweizer Nati, La Nati and Squadra nazionale in German, French, and Italian languages respectively, the national team hasn’t tasted any big success in their soccer playing career over a span of 80 years.
Despite their good show in not conceding any goal in the 2006 World Cup, the team was eliminated from the tournament after they lost 3-0 to Ukraine in a penalty shootout. It holds the record of being the only soccer team in the history of FIFA to have been eliminated without granting any goal. Another interesting record of the Swiss football team is of holding the opposition’s goal for 559 minutes in the World Cup. They started in the 2006 World Cup and never conceded any goal until the 2010 World Cup match against Chile that halted their goalless streak.
Switzerland’s Success Story
When we talk about Switzerland’s national football team’s success, the 1924 Olympic Games’ silver medal has to be mentioned, which they earned while facing a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Uruguay. They entered the quarterfinals three times in the 1934, 1938, and 1954 FIFA World Cups but never went ahead to bag the title. Their recent years’ performance has been impressive, with the team reaching round 1 of the European Championships of 1996, 2004, and 2008. The Swiss national team has qualified for the upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and it would be interesting to see how this “defensive strategy” team fares in the tournament. This will be their 10th appearance in all the FIFA World Cups.
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Switzerland’s performance in all FIFA World Cups:
| World Cup Year | World Cup Hosting Nation | FIFA Qualification | Quarter Final Birth | Semi Final Birth | Third Place Secured | Reached Final | Title Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | South Africa | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 2006 | Germany | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 2002 | South Korea | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1998 | France | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1994 | United States | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 1990 | Italy | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1986 | Mexico | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1982 | Spain | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1978 | Argentina | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1974 | West Germany | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1970 | Mexico | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1966 | England | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 1962 | Chile | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 1958 | Sweden | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1954 | Switzerland | Yes | Yes | No | – | – | – |
| 1950 | Brazil | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 1938 | France | Yes | Yes | No | – | – | – |
| 1934 | Italy | Yes | Yes | No | – | – | – |
| 1930 | Uruguay | Did Not Play | – | – | – | ||
| Total | 19 World Cups | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |