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Get to know the chances of Switzerland's Women’s national team at the FIFA Women's World Cup.
Overview
This is only the second time Switzerland have reached the Women’s World Cup and despite modest results under the new Nati coach, Inka Grings, and an ankle injury to the inspirational captain, Lia Wälti, there is a positivity surrounding the team before the tournament starts.
In contrast to some of the top teams at the World Cup, Switzerland have a relatively small squad. In some ways it made it easier for Grings to pick her final 23 but it also means that the star players have to be at their absolute best if they are to cause some surprises in Australia and New Zealand.
Wälti, together with Paris St-Germain’s Ramona Bachmann and the newly crowned Champions League winner, Barcelona’s Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic, are the heart and soul of the team. The dependence on the trio is “damn dangerous” as Grings said in April when a team without Wälti and Bachmann lost 2-1 to Iceland.
The start under Grings has been difficult. The four friendlies in the spring against Poland (two games), China and Iceland ended with no wins and only two goals scored. "The desire in front of goal is still a bit lacking," admitted the midfieder Seraina Piubel. It is a problem that must be particularly irksome for Grings as it was a quality she was known for.
However, Switzerland can still dream of getting out of the group because the draw was kind to them. They are in group A with hosts New Zealand, Norway, and the Philippines, who are among the five lowest-ranked teams in the tournament. They will be very disappointed not to quality for the knockout stage and some experts back home even believe they can win the group.
This will be Switzerland’s fourth appearance at a major tournament, after qualifying for the 2015 World Cup and the Euros in 2017 and 2022. However, despite some good performances they are yet to reach the knockout stage. It could happen this time because there is a good mix between experience and youthful energy in this squad.
And they know that a good showing is likely to trigger increased interest in the sport and in the team, which is no small matter considering the fact there is a home Euros to come in two years.
The coach
Having succeeded Nils Nielsen at the start of the year, there is a fresh wind blowing through the national team under Inka Grings. She talks in a clear and concise way and while the Dane put a lot of emphasis on a cultivated buildup play and ball possession, Grings is more interested in a straightforward and quick approach from defence to attack. Grings had a successful playing career, scoring 64 goals in 96 internationals for Germany winning the Euros in 2005 and 2009. As a coach she was in charge of FC Zurich for a year and a half, during which time they won the double and qualified for the Champions League. Players have already said that the training sessions before the World Cup is far more intense than before the Euros.
Star player
Ramona Bachmann or Alisha Lehmann may be better known and Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic more successful, but the most important player of the team is the captain, Lia Wälti – on and off the pitch. She has an outstanding understanding of the game and is socially incredibly competent, which heightens her authority as a leader. As early as 2015 Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, the current Germany coach, said she had the potential to be a world-class player at that year’s World Cup and although it took Wälti a bit longer to reach that status she is certainly there now. She moved to Arsenal in 2018 and immediately won the WSL title with her new club. And despite the ankle injury in May she is expected to captain Switzerland for the opening game against Philippines.
Rising star
Seraina Piubel has had her breakthrough season with her goals and assists crucial as FC Zurich defended their league title. The midfielder also came into her own for the national team under her former club coach, Grings. A move abroad is surely imminent but Piubel is phlegmatic about the situation. “Whatever happens, happens,” she says. She was born into a footballing family with her mother, Sandra Piubel, winning one cap for Switzerland and her father, Urs Meier, securing several Swiss league titles with Grasshoppers. Piubel is extremely versatile and can be deployed in a number of positions, as a No 6, a No 8, a No 10 and even up front. Her favorite position? Just behind the strikers.
Did you know?
Fabienne Humm is unique in Swiss football. In 2015 she made history with the fastest World Cup hat-trick of all time. The logistics businesswoman has decided against a professional career abroad and feels at home in Zurich. She never wanted to give up her day-job. At the 2022 Euros she did some of her work in the hotel room and was absent for some of the World Cup preparations because of work.
Standing of women’s football in Switzerland
In 1970 some pioneers founded the first women's league in Switzerland but it was not until 1993 that it was integrated into the Football Federation. In 2004, a training centre for girls was opened in Huttwil, which laid the foundation for the successes of the modern era. The World Cup debut in 2015 and being at the Euros in 2017 and 2022 all increased public interest and
Now more than 34,000 women are licensed players in Switzerland. The trend is clearly upwards. The federation is hoping that hosting the 2025 European Championship will lead to another boom. There will be two females on the federation board from July 2024 but there is still a lot to do when it comes to the daily running of the league: if you want to be a professional you have to move abroad.
Realistic aim at the World Cup?
The draw was kind to Switzerland and finishing in the top two and qualify for the knockout stage is the clear goal for this team. "We take it step by step," says Ramona Bachmann but they have said that they have packed enough stuff to last until the final, on 20 August. Realistically the quarter-finals are probably this team’s ceiling.
Written by Christian Finkbeiner (Blick) for The Guardian.
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