Women’s World Cup 2023: Switzerland in-depth team guide and prediction

Here’s your guide to Switzerland at the Women’s World Cup 2023. This article is part of a collaboration with the Guardian along with leading newspapers from each of the participating countries at the tournament.

This in-depth guide was written by Christian Finkbeiner for Blick in Switzerland.

Switzerland: Overview

Switzerland is taking part in a World Cup for only the second time. Despite moderate results under the new Nati coach Inka Grings (44) and the ankle injury to captain Lia Wälti (30) in the run-up to the tournament, the starting position looks promising.

In contrast to the top nations, Switzerland has a relatively small squad, even though it was easier to choose the best 23 players. To the surprise of many, Grings did not select Riola Xhemaili, one of the country’s most talented players. The reason: lack of fitness and too little match practice. Xhemaili is moving within the German Bundesliga from Freiburg to Wolfsburg this summer.

Iman Beney was unlucky. The shooting star of the preparation tore a cruciate ligament in her knee during training on the day before the World Cup main rehearsal against Morocco. At just under 17, the Young Boys striker would have become the youngest Swiss World Cup participant in history.

The heart of the Swiss team is formed by Lia Wälti (Arsenal), Ramona Bachmann (PSG) and Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic of Champions League winners FC Barcelona. The dependence on the three top players is great. And “damn dangerous”, as Nati coach Grings already said in April, when Wälti and Bachmann were missing in the 2-1 defeat against Iceland.

The start under Grings has been difficult. The four test matches in spring against Poland (twice), China and Iceland resulted in no wins and only two goals. “The desire in front of goal is still a bit lacking,” said Seraina Piubel. A quality that particularly distinguished the former striker Grings. In the first World Cup test match against Zambia (3:3), the goals were scored, but the defence made a poor impression.

That said, there is no prohibition on dreaming big, because the draw was kind to the Swiss. With New Zealand, Norway and the Philippines, who are the worst outsiders, they were placed in the weakest group on paper. Getting through to the next round is a must if they want to live up to their own expectations. Some experts even see Switzerland as favourites to win the group.

The World Cup Down Under is the fourth major tournament for the Swiss after the World Cup premiere in Canada in 2015 and the European Championships in 2017 and 2022. Despite good performances, however, a major advance at a final tournament has so far failed to materialise. To achieve such a result, i.e. to qualify for a quarter-final at a finals for the first time, a lot has to come together in New Zealand. But the time is ripe. The mix of veterans and young guns is right. If they all stay healthy, a lot is possible. Especially with a view to the 2025 European Championship in Switzerland, a successful World Cup could really set things off.

Switzerland: 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.

Switzerland: 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.

Switzerland: 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 there are now more than 34,000 licensed players in the country.

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.