5 Things You Should Know About Switzerland Before Euro 2016

Did you know that Switzerland finished as the runners up of Group E? Or that they registered no draws during the qualifiers? La Nati or the Rossocrociati as the side’s affectionately known by their fans have qualified for the 2016 edition of Euro’s as Runners up of Group E, comfortably securing their place with 21 points or 5 points above 3^rd place Slovenia! Here are 5 things you should know about Switzerland before Euros 2016:

1) How Did They Qualify?

Switzerland secured their place in the finals with 7 wins and 3 Losses! They Lost To England in both fixtures and But were one of the 3 sides to finish with a positive goal difference in the group! They also scored 24 goals and finished with the Second highest goal difference in the group.

- Their Stats This Qualifiers

2) Closest To Glory

Switzerland have not got past the group stage the 3 times they have qualified for the finals. The European team have lost 1 in their last 8 qualifiers match this time around. Euro’s 2008 were the closest they came to moving to round, registering a win against Portugal. Had Turkey lost the match to Czech Repulic, Switzerland would have gone though. It was the only match that they won in 9 Group Stages Matches in the Finals!

- Their Euro 2004 squad

3) Road To Qualifiers

The Switzerland team started Poorly losing their first two matches but they managed to turn things around winning 7 of their next 8 matches. Switzerland lost both their matches against England and 1 against Slovenia. In the 3 Matches they lost, they conceded 5 goals, of the total 8 they conceded in the qualifiers! They secured the a place in the finals with 1 match to go thanks to Slovenia’s Draw against Lithuania. They won their last match against Estonia thanks to a last minute own goal.

4) Key Players To Look Out For:

Xherdan Shaqiri(mid), Stephan Lichtsteiner(def) and Haris Seferovic(fwd) will be key for Switzerland’s effort to win matches. They all have pioneered their position in a manner where they’re irreplaceable for the squad.

- Xherdan Shaqiri

5) Chances To Qualify For The Next Round?

Good. Given their current form Romania will provide them with good competition however, Albania should not posses as much of a threat to their chances of Progressing! Their Fixture against France will be a difficult and a tricky one!