The FIFA World Cup 2026™ in Canada, Mexico and the United States will be Switzerland’s sixth consecutive World Cup and their 13th overall. The Nati have reached the quarter-finals three times – in 1934, 1938 and 1954. Since 1994, they have progressed to the round of 16 five times in six attempts, only to often fall in rather dramatic circumstances. The Swiss also made it to the quarter-finals at the last two European Championships.
Captain Granit Xhaka, formerly of Arsenal and Bayer Leverkusen and currently starring for Sunderland in the Premier League, is the team’s figurehead and playmaker. No player has won more caps for Switzerland than the 33-year-old, who has already graced three World Cups.
Switzerland head coach: Murat Yakin
As a player, Basel-born coach Murat Yakin played for Grasshoppers, Fenerbahce, Stuttgart and Basel, and won 49 international caps, mostly in defensive midfield. After hanging up his boots, he began his coaching career in 2006 and coached a number of clubs in his home country before succeeding Vladimir Petkovia as Swiss head coach in 2021.
After guiding his team through an impressive qualifying campaign for Qatar 2022, he led them to the round of 16, where they fell to a crushing 6-1 defeat at the hands of Portugal. At EURO 2024, Yakin’s charges eliminated defending champions Italy before losing to England on penalties in the last eight.
Switzerland’s World Cup 2026 fixtures and group
Switzerland will discover their group-stage opponents when the Final Draw for the FIFA World Cup 2026™ takes place at the prestigious John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC from 12 noon local time (18:00 CET) on Friday, 5 December. More information on the draw.
How Switzerland qualified for World Cup 2026
The Swiss got their qualifying campaign off to flying start with a 4-0 win over Kosovo, thanks in no small part to Breel Embolo, who bagged a brace. Yakin’s team also showcased their rich potential in their next game, a 3-0 win over Slovenia, before brushing Sweden aside 2-0.
The Swiss did not show any weakness in the return legs either, drawing 0-0 in Slovenia before flexing their muscles against the Swedes again in an emphatic 4-1 win. A draw with Kosovo on the final matchday saw the Swiss end their qualifying campaign unbeaten and with a remarkable goal difference of +12 (14 goals scored, two conceded).
Switzerland’s World Cup history
Switzerland’s best World Cup
Switzerland have reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup three times, although their most recent appearance in the last eight was some time ago now. In 1954, they secured their place in the quarter-finals on home soil with a 4-1 win over Italy, but were eliminated in a 7-5 defeat by Austria in the sweltering heat of Lausanne despite leading 3-0. No other World Cup match has ever witnessed 12 goals, nine in the first half alone.
Switzerland’s last World Cup
Switzerland began their Qatar 2022 campaign – their fifth consecutive appearance at the World Cup – with a 1-0 win over Cameroon thanks to a goal from Breel Embolo, but then slipped to a 1-0 defeat by Brazil. In their third match, the Nati secured second place in Group G with a 3-2 victory over Serbia before succumbing to a chastening 6-1 defeat by Portugal in the round of 16, with Goncalo Ramos bagging a hat trick.
Switzerland’s first World Cup
Switzerland’s first World Cup was at Italy 1934, where Heinrich Muller’s men defeated the Netherlands 3-2 in their World Cup opener, but their dreams of a debut medal were dashed four days later when they lost 3-2 to Czechoslovakia in the quarters.
Switzerland’s World Cup top scorer
With six goals at the 1954 World Cup on home soil, Josef Hugi is still Switzerland’s top World Cup scorer. Xherdan Shaqiri is in second place with five goals in his three World Cup appearances in 2014, 2018 and 2022, but as he called time on his international career in 2024, Hugi’s record is safe for now – unless Shaqiri comes out of international retirement.
Switzerland’s record World Cup appearance maker
Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka have made the most World Cup appearances for Switzerland, with 12 apiece. Both have played in three editions so far – in 2014, 2018 and 2022 – and are also likely to feature in 2026, which would give them the opportunity to extend their record.
Switzerland’s memorable World Cup moments
Probably the most legendary match in Swiss World Cup history ended in defeat, with the Nati losing 7-5 to Austria in a 1954 quarter-final played in the blistering heat of Lausanne, despite leading 3-0. The game was played in temperatures that reached more than 40 degrees in the shade, and Austrian keeper Kurt Schmied even suffered sunstroke in the first half but was not allowed to be substituted under the rules in force at the time. He staggered back and forth between the posts in a trance-like state, and the Swiss took full advantage by scoring three times within the space of just eight minutes.
It was only when an Austrian masseur stood behind the disorientated Schmied’s goal, constantly trying to cool him down with sponges and water, that the Austrians were able to turn the game around. They rallied from a 3-0 deficit into a 5-3 lead within 15 minutes, and although the Swiss scored twice more, so did the Austrians – and the game finished 7-5. The match remains, to this day, the highest-scoring match in World Cup history.
Switzerland’s biggest World Cup wins
Switzerland have enjoyed two 4-1 wins at the World Cup – first against Italy in 1954 on home soil, and against Romania 40 years later in the USA, when Alain Sutter, Stephane Chapuisat and Adrian Knup (2) were all on the scoresheet.
