Switzerland World Cup squad list for round of 16 fixture against Portugal

Switzerland finished second in their World Cup group, after beating Cameroon, losing to Brazil and winning against Serbia.

That set up a last-16 tie against Portugal in Qatar, whose hosting of the tournament is controversial for the reasons outlined in this article.

Switzerland are a nation that have consistently punched above their weight at major tournaments, having progressed from their group at their last four major tournaments.

The spine of the side has remained consistent over the past few tournaments, with Yann Sommer in goal, Granit Xhaka in midfield and Xherdan Shaqiri pulling the strings in attack. A number of Switzerland’s squad are beginning to age but alongside their wealth of experience there will be hope for 25-year-old forward Breel Embolo to be an important, energetic figure in the side, as well as excitement over 22-year-old Noah Okafor.

Respectable draws against European champions Italy set the foundations for Switzerland to impressively qualify for Qatar as Group C winners before sealing their spot at the end of their unbeaten campaign with an emphatic 4-0 win over Bulgaria.

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Goalkeepers: Gregor Kobel (Borussia Dortmund), Philipp Kohn (RB Salzburg), Jonas Omlin (Montpellier), Yann Sommer (Borussia Monchengladbach);

Defenders: Manuel Akanji (Manchester City), Eray Comert (Valencia), Nico Elvedi (Borussia Monchengladbach), Ricardo Rodriguez (Torino), Fabian Schar (Newcastle United), Silvan Widmer (Mainz);

Midfielders: Granit Xhaka (Arsenal), Edimilson Fernandes (Mainz), Fabian Frei (Basel), Remo Freuler (Nottingham Forest), Ardon Jashari (Luzern), Fabian Rieder (Young Boys), Xherdan Shaqiri (Chicago Fire), Djibril Sow (Eintracht Frankfurt), Renato Steffen (Lugano), Denis Zakaria (Chelsea), Michel Aebischer (Bologna);

Forwards: Breel Embolo (Monaco), Christian Fassnacht (Young Boys), Noah Okafor (RB Salzburg), Haris Seferovic (Galatasaray), Ruben Vargas (Augsburg).

Switzerland’s World Cup fixtures and results

Thursday, November 24: Switzerland 1-0 Cameroon

Monday, November 28: Brazil 1-0 Switzerland

Friday, December 2: Serbia 2-3 Switzerland

Tuesday, December 6: Portugal vs Switzerland

Switzerland squad analysis

Switzerland confounded the experts by reaching the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 last year, beating pre-tournament ‘dark horses’ Turkey and then world champions France along the way. They head to Qatar with expectations higher than ever, although merely progressing from a group also containing Brazil, Serbia and Cameroon won’t be easy…

For a full analysis of their chances in Qatar, click here.

Meet The Athletic’s guest writers for the World Cup

Read more: Switzerland beat Serbia 3-2 to advance to the World Cup 2022 Round of 16

Read more: Brazil defeated Switzerland 1-0 on Monday in World Cup Group G action, qualifying for the Round of 16.

Read more: Portugal eliminated Switzerland with a 6-1 win thanks to a Goncalo Ramos hat trick

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World Cup provisional squads explained

(Photo: Getty Images)