Switzerland at the FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, sometimes called the Football World Cup, but usually referred to simply as the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the first tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 due to World War II.
The tournament consists of two parts, the qualification phase and the final phase (officially called the World Cup Finals). The qualification phase, which currently take place over the three years preceding the Finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the Finals. The current format of the Finals involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. The World Cup Finals is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 tournament final.
Switzerland have appeared in the finals of the World Cup on twelve occasions, and have reached the quarter-finals three times, in 1934, 1938 and 1954.
World Cup record
Switzerland's record at FIFA World Cups:[1]
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1930 | Did not enter | |||||||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 1934 | Quarter-finals | 7th | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 1938 | 7th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 1950 | Group stage | 6th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 1954 | Quarter-finals | 8th | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 11 |
 1958 | Did not qualify | |||||||
 1962 | Group stage | 16th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
 1966 | 16th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | |
 1970 | Did not qualify | |||||||
 1974 | ||||||||
 1978 | ||||||||
 1982 | ||||||||
| 1986 | ||||||||
 1990 | ||||||||
 1994 | Round of 16 | 16th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 |
 1998 | Did not qualify | |||||||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small}  2002 | ||||||||
| 2006 | Round of 16 | 10th | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
 2010 | Group stage | 19th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
 2014 | Round of 16 | 11th | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 7 |
 2018 | 14th | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | |
 2022 | 12th | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 9 | |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 2026 | To be determined | |||||||
 2030 | To be determined | |||||||
| 2034 | To be determined | |||||||
| 2038 | To be determined | |||||||
| Total | Quarter-finals | 12/22 | 41 | 14 | 8 | 19 | 55 | 73 |
- *Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
| Switzerland's World Cup record | |
|---|---|
| First Match | Switzerland 3–2 Netherlands  (27 May 1934; Milan, Italy) |
| Biggest Win | Switzerland 4–1 Italy (23 June 1954; Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland 4–1 Romania  (22 June 1994; Pontiac, United States) .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Honduras 0–3 Switzerland (25 June 2014; Manaus, Brazil) |
| Biggest Defeat | West Germany 5–0 Switzerland (12 July 1966; Sheffield, England)  Portugal 6–1 Switzerland (6 December 2022; Lusail, Qatar) |
| Best Result | Quarter-finals in 1934, 1938 and 1954 |
| Worst Result | Group stage in 1950, 1962, 1966 and 2010 |
By match
Match records
1934 FIFA World Cup
The group stage used in the first World Cup was discarded in favour of a straight knockout tournament.
| Switzerland | 3–2 | Netherlands |
|---|---|---|
Kielholz  7', 43'[2]Abegglen 69' |
Report | Smit 19' Vente 84' |
Czechoslovakia  | 3–2 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Svoboda 24' Sobotka 49'Nejedlý 82' |
Report | Kielholz 18' Jäggi 78' |
1938 FIFA World Cup
Germany .svg.png.webp){kind=small} | 2–4 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Hahnemann 8' Lörtscher 22' (o.g.) |
Report | Walaschek 42' Bickel 64'Abegglen 75', 78' |
| Switzerland | 0–2 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Hungary |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Sárosi 40' Zsengellér 89'[3] |
1950 FIFA World Cup
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 5 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Yugoslavia |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 4 |
| Switzerland |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 3 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Mexico |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 0 |
| Yugoslavia | 3 – 0 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Mitić 59' Tomašević 70'Ognjanov 75' |
Report |
1954 FIFA World Cup
Switzerland hosted the tournament in 1954 and reached the quarter-final for a third time, where the team was beaten 7–5 by neighbouring Austria.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 3 |
| Switzerland |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Italy |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Belgium |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 1 |
- Switzerland finished ahead of Italy by winning a play-off
| England | 2–0 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Mullen 43' Wilshaw 69' |
Report |
1962 FIFA World Cup
After missing out on the previous tournament, Switzerland qualified for the 1962 edition, held in Chile. Unfortunately, they finished at the bottom of Group 2 without a single point, having lost all their matches.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Germany |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 4.00 | 5 |
| Chile |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 1.67 | 4 |
| Italy |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1.50 | 3 |
| Switzerland |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 0.25 | 0 |
| Chile | 3–1 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| L. Sánchez 44', 55' Ramírez 51' |
Report | Wüthrich 6' |
| West Germany | 2–1 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Brülls 45' Seeler 59' |
Report | Schneiter 73' |
| Italy | 3–0 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Mora 1' Bulgarelli 65', 67' |
Report |
1966 FIFA World Cup
Despite securing back-to-back qualification for the FIFA World Cups, Switzerland's performance in the 1966 edition was far more abysmal. They lost all of their matches once more, including a 5-0 walloping by eventual runners-up West Germany in their opening game. To date, this remains as Switzerland's worst performance.
This was also Switzerland's last FIFA World Cup campaign in 28 years, as their next appearance at the tournament would come in the 1994 edition.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Germany |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 7.00 | 5 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Argentina |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 4.00 | 5 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Spain |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 0.80 | 2 |
| Switzerland |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 0.11 | 0 |
- West Germany was placed first due to superior goal average.
| West Germany | 5–0 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Held 16' Haller 21', 77' (pen.)Beckenbauer 40', 52' |
Report |
| Argentina | 2–0 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Artime 52' Onega 79' |
Report |
1994 FIFA World Cup
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Romania |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Switzerland |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 4 | |
| 3 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} United States (H) |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 |  Colombia |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 |
| United States | 1–1 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Wynalda 45' |
Report | Bregy 39' |
        United States
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   Switzerland
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.svg.png.webp){kind=small}
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Assistant referees:
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   Romania
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 Switzerland
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Assistant referees:
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Note: Switzerland's fourth goal is also credited to Georges Bregy.
| Switzerland | 0–2 | Colombia |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Gaviria 44' Lozano 90' |
Switzerland
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    Colombia
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Assistant referees:
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| Spain | 3–0 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Hierro 15' Luis Enrique 74'Begiristain 86' (pen.) |
Report |
    Spain
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Switzerland
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2006 FIFA World Cup
The World Cup 2006 in Germany was the first World Cup for Switzerland since their participation at the World Cup 1994. After finishing second behind France in qualifying group 4, they defeated Turkey in the play-off round 2–0 and 4–2 to qualify for the main tournament.
In the group stage, they played again against France. The game played in Stuttgart ended in a goalless draw. After defeating Togo 2–0 in Dortmund and South Korea also 2–0 in Hannover, they finished first in group G and qualified for the knockout stage. In the second round of the tournament, they faced Ukraine in Cologne. The game had to be decided in a penalty shootout since no goal was scored after 120 minutes. Ukraine won the shootout 3–0. Switzerland was the only team in tournament not to have conceded a goal during regulation time in their matches. Switzerland's top scorer at the tournament was Alexander Frei with two goals. When Switzerland lost 3–0 on penalties, that was the first time that a team lost on penalties without scoring a single goal in the penalties.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Switzerland |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | France |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 5 | |
| 3 | South Korea |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 4 | |
| 4 |  Togo |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 0 |
All times local (CEST/UTC+2)
| France | 0–0 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
     France
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   Switzerland
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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| Togo | 0–2 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Frei 16' Barnetta 88' |
   Togo
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 Switzerland
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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| Switzerland | 2–0 | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Senderos 23' Frei 77' |
Report |
Switzerland
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   Korea Republic
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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| Switzerland | 0–0 (a.e.t.) |  Ukraine |
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| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
Streller  Barnetta Cabanas |
0–3 | Shevchenko Milevskyi Rebrov Husyev |
Switzerland
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  Ukraine
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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2010 FIFA World Cup
Switzerland were the only team to beat eventual world champion Spain, by a 0–1 victory in the group stage. In spite of this, they did not survive the first round.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Chile |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 6 | |
| 3 | Switzerland |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | Honduras |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | −3 | 1 |
| Spain | 0–1 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Fernandes 52' |
     Spain[5]
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     Switzerland[5]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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| Chile | 1–0 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| González 75' |
Report |
    Chile[6]
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 Switzerland[6]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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    Switzerland[7]
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   Honduras[7]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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2014 FIFA World Cup
At the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Switzerland were drawn in Group E along with Ecuador, France, and Honduras. They opened their campaign with a 2–1 victory over Ecuador in Brasilia. However, in their next match, they suffered a 5–2 defeat to France. Despite the initial setback, a 3–0 victory in their final game against Honduras, courtesy of a hat-trick by Xherdan Shaqiri sent them into the round of 16, where they faced the two-time world champions and eventual runners-up Argentina.
The game was goalless and nearly heading to penalties when Ángel Di María scored a 118th-minute extra time goal to send Argentina into the quarter-finals. Despite being eliminated in the round of 16, it was Switzerland's best performance in eight years.
| Legend |
|---|
| Group winners and runners-up advance to the round of 16 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Switzerland |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 6 | |
| 3 |  Ecuador |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | Honduras |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | −7 | 0 |
All times local: five matches are in Brasília official time (UTC−3), while Honduras v Switzerland, played in Manaus, is in the Amazon time zone (UTC−4).
| Switzerland | 2–1 | Ecuador |
|---|---|---|
| Mehmedi 48' Seferovic 90+3' |
Report | E. Valencia 22' |
| Switzerland | 2–5 | France |
|---|---|---|
| Džemaili 81' Xhaka 87' |
Report | Giroud 17' Matuidi 18'Valbuena 40'Benzema 67'Sissoko 73' |
| Honduras | 0–3 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Shaqiri 6', 31', 71' |
| Argentina | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Di María 118' |
Report |
Record players
.jpg.webp)
| Rank | Player | Matches | World Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xherdan Shaqiri | 14 | 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022 |
| 2 | Ricardo Rodríguez | 12 | 2014, 2018 and 2022 |
| Granit Xhaka | 12 | 2014, 2018 and 2022 | |
| 4 | Stephan Lichtsteiner | 10 | 2010, 2014 and 2018 |
| Valon Behrami | 10 | 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 | |
| Haris Seferovic | 10 | 2014, 2018 and 2022 | |
| 7 | Kiki Antenen | 8 | 1950, 1954 and 1962 |
| Johan Djourou | 8 | 2006, 2014 and 2018 | |
| Manuel Akanji | 8 | 2018 and 2022 | |
| Breel Embolo | 8 | 2018 and 2022 | |
| 11 | Roger Bocquet | 7 | 1950 and 1954 |
| Jacky Fatton | 7 | 1950 and 1954 | |
| André Neury | 7 | 1950 and 1954 | |
| Tranquillo Barnetta | 7 | 2006 and 2010 | |
| Diego Benaglio | 7 | 2010 and 2014 | |
| Gökhan Inler | 7 | 2010 and 2014 | |
| Josip Drmić | 7 | 2014 and 2018 | |
| Blerim Džemaili | 7 | 2014 and 2018 | |
| Yann Sommer | 7 | 2018 and 2022 |
Top goalscorers
With six goals at Switzerland's home tournament in 1954, Josef Hügi won the shared Silver Boot - the only individual FIFA World Cup award ever received by a Swiss player.
| Rank | Player | Goals | World Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josef Hügi | 6 | 1954 |
| 2 | Xherdan Shaqiri | 5 | 2014 (3), 2018 and 2022 |
| 3 | André Abegglen | 4 | 1934 (1) and 1938 (3) |
| Robert Ballaman | 4 | 1954 | |
| 5 | Leopold Kielholz | 3 | 1934 |
| Jacques Fatton | 3 | 1950 (2) and 1954 (1) | |
| 7 | Adrian Knup | 2 | 1994 |
| Alexander Frei | 2 | 2006 | |
| Granit Xhaka | 2 | 2014 and 2018 | |
| Blerim Džemaili | 2 | 2014 and 2018 | |
| Breel Embolo | 2 | 2022 | |
Squads
Switzerland squads at FIFA World Cup finals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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References
- "FIFA World Cup - Statistics for Switzerland". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original on June 14, 2009.
- RSSSF credits this goal as occurring in the 29th minute.
- RSSSF credits this goal as coming in the 90th minute.
- "Referee designations for matches 1-16" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 5 June 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
- "Tactical Line-up – Group H – Spain-Switzerland" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 16 June 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 22, 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
- "Tactical Line-up – Group H – Chile-Switzerland" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 21 June 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 20, 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
- "Tactical Line-up – Group H – Switzerland-Honduras" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 25 June 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 July 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2010.