At the age of 23, Fabian Rieder already boasts a proud record of 23 appearances and one goal for the Swiss national team. The central midfielder could not have wished for a better setting for his debut as he made his bow at the FIFA World Cup 2022™ in Qatar, featuring in Switzerland’s 1-0 win over Cameroon and their 1-0 defeat at the hands of Brazil.
Augsburg’s summer signing is now keen to return to the global stage at the expanded FIFA World Cup 26™ in Canada, Mexico and the United States next year.
The Swiss have certainly impressed in the UEFA qualifiers so far. With ten points from their first four matches, the Nati are currently top of Group B going into their final two group matches against Sweden on 15 November and Kosovo three days later as they seek to qualify for their 13th World Cup.
Speaking to FIFA, Rieder looks at Augsburg’s start to the Bundesliga season, the progress of the Swiss national team, and highlights some of the brightest young talents coming through the Swiss ranks.
FIFA: Fabian, we are now about a quarter of the way into the Bundesliga season and Augsburg are sitting near the bottom of the standings. Why do you think that things can only get better from here on in?
Fabian Rieder: Because I’m confident that we will now be able to achieve a certain level of consistency. The whole club has been through a period of upheaval, and that takes time. We’ve had a few ups and downs, but we have quality in our ranks, and now we have to show that consistently on the pitch.
You gained experience of the Bundesliga with Stuttgart last season. Why was Augsburg the right place for your next career step?
Because I have a very good platform for development here. I know that I have the trust of the club and the coaching team, and I am happy whenever I can repay that faith on the pitch. At the end of the day, it’s all about performances, and I try to do my best in every match and training session. I have no doubt that the move was the right step for me.
In terms of the national team, it’s been a fantastic start for Switzerland. Given how well the team has developed over recent years, is qualification almost expected now?
All teams are getting better and better; there are no easy games anymore. Every side has challenges to overcome, so nothing can be taken for granted. We’ve been very successful recently, and we want to continue on that path in the years to come, too.
We have incredibly good players, a lot of quality, and if we can show that on the pitch, we’ll give anyone a game. Nevertheless, success doesn’t come easy, and it’s especially hard to keep performing consistently. We’ve done that well in the last few years. You always have to work hard if you want to be successful.
What would sealing your place at the World Cup mean on an emotional level?
Being at the World Cup would be amazing of course, especially with three cool hosts in Canada, Mexico and the United States. It’d be a great experience, and for me personally, my second World Cup. That’s something very special in a football career.
Do you think your experience at the 2022 World Cup could stand you in good stead in North America?
It’d help me a little, of course. Generally, you always learn something from every game, but a World Cup is of course a different beast. I was still at Young Boys at the time, and I had the honour of playing at the World Cup. That gave me a boost, especially in terms of experience. Given everything that comes with the World Cup, those games were the biggest of my career so far.
In midfield, you have some experienced team-mates such as Granit Xhaka, Djibril Sow and Remo Freuler. What have you learnt from them?
They’re all world-class players with vast experience. They’ve all been through good and difficult times, they can read the game, have incredibly good technique and make almost no mistakes. They may be slightly different types of players to me, but I can still learn a lot from them when it comes to their personalities, not to mention their footballing qualities.
Remo is currently sidelined [with a broken collarbone], and that’s a big blow for us because he’s a very good player and a leader. But we have a lot of depth and quality in our squad, and we’ll try to show that in our last two matches and be successful.
You progressed through all of Switzerland’s youth national teams and have seen first-hand just how many talented youngsters have burst onto the scene in recent years. How do you see the future of the Nati?
Recently, the younger crop of players have been getting more and more minutes for the national team. There’s a lot of quality there, with players such as Ardon Jashari, Luca Jaquez, Aurele Amenda, Adrian Bajrami, Marvin Keller, Johan Manzambi and others.
I also see myself as one of the younger group. We have more promising youngsters ready to come in, and we have a good blend of youth and experience in the team. We’re definitely on the right track.
Next year’s World Cup will feature more teams than ever. Let’s assume you qualify: how much are you looking forward to seeing so many different football cultures?
A World Cup is always something special. I don’t really have much to draw on by way of comparison because I haven’t played against many African or South American teams yet, for example. This summer, we beat Mexico 4-2 in Salt Lake City – and it was an eye-opener.
You can sometimes learn even more from a friendly like that because it’s not the same as a World Cup match. There were many Mexican fans there, and some even had a barbecue in the car park before the match. And it’s a little different in terms of football too.
Perhaps the players were trained in a different way or followed a different pathway. The mentality is different, and you can feel those differences on the pitch. It may be different, but it’s just as much fun.
