With strong performances, the Swiss national team fought their way through to the quarter-finals at the European Championships in Germany. They could have done even better. The players in the individual critique:
Yann Sommer
Yann Sommer, who has been a stalwart at the back for many years, was less able to distinguish himself at this European Championship than at previous tournaments, which was mainly due to the strong defense. Only nine balls were kept in the statistics for the five matches. By comparison, Sommer made ten saves in the quarter-final against Spain alone at Euro 2021. Despite having little to do overall, Sommer conceded four goals, most of which he was powerless to prevent. It was the 35-year-old's fifth and possibly last major tournament appearance.
Manuel Akanji
The best Swiss player of the tournament alongside Granit Xhaka. Akanji kept the back three together and showed a strong tackling performance with 37 ball recoveries. The 28-year-old also did what Murat Yakin had asked of him: he took on more responsibility within the team and relieved the pressure on captain Xhaka. The fact that he was the only player to miss in the penalty shoot-out against England makes him a tragic hero.
Ricardo Rodriguez
"The eternal Ricardo Rodriguez" is the only Swiss player to have played in every major tournament since 2014. The 120-time international has 14 European Championship and 12 World Cup games to his name. He has shown no signs of wear and tear. The 31-year-old impressed in the back three and supported the still inexperienced Michel Aebischer in left midfield. Or as Xhaka said about his buddy: "Nobody understands that Ricci is available for free."
Fabian Schär
The third player in the back three also impressed. Despite suffering a broken nose in the second group game, Schär defended uncompromisingly and also repeatedly joined in the attacking play. After a temporary slump in the national team, when he only featured in three out of ten games in qualifying, he regained his place as a regular in the spring and never left any doubt about it.
Silvan Widmer
Team-oriented, but with less influence on the game than before. In the group stage, Widmer played as a right winger, but lost his place to the more agile Dan Ndoye after serving a suspension in the round of 16. He saw three yellow cards in four games.
Michel Aebischer
Had his big moment in the first game against Hungary, when he surprisingly started as a left midfielder. He set up the first goal in the 3-1 win and scored the second himself. The "emergency solution" proved to be a safe bet for the most part, albeit with a few weaknesses defensively. In the quarter-final against England, he was often out of his depth in the duel with Bukayo Saka.
Zeki Amdouni
Had hoped to replace Breel Embolo, who was still injured at the start. But usually had to give way to Kwadwo Duah. Amdouni only made four partial appearances, in which he demonstrated his qualities to some extent.
Kwadwo Duah
Wrote his own personal European Championship fairytale. Duah was called up for the national team for the first time ahead of the tournament and, thanks to strong training performances, progressed from reserve to starting eleven against Hungary. The 27-year-old scored Switzerland's first goal of the tournament and won the hearts of the fans with his modest and likeable manner.
Breel Embolo
He owes the fact that he was able to take part in the European Championship at all to his irrepressible will. Embolo had missed almost all of the season due to injury and had traveled to the national team camp with an injury. According to assistant coach Giorgio Contini, he worked hard on himself every day. He rewarded himself with a 3:1 goal in the first game and was part of the starting line-up from the third group game onwards. With his second goal, he briefly allowed Switzerland to dream of reaching the semi-finals.
Remo Freuler
A permanent fixture in the strong center. Freuler showed great willingness to run and was always an unpleasant opponent for his opponents. He excelled in the round of 16 against Italy, when he scored the redemptive goal after a prolonged run by the Swiss.
Dan Ndoye
The discovery of the year. With his speed, dribbling and assertiveness, Ndoye was an important asset in Switzerland's attacking play. After three appearances as an attacker, he also proved his qualities one position further back from the round of 16 onwards. The 23-year-old still lacks the precision of the final pass to become a great player.
Fabian Rieder
He entered the national team camp as a shaky candidate and earned himself a place in the starting eleven over the course of the tournament. After signing a loan contract with Stuttgart, Rieder played freely and forced his way into further appearances. He impressed with his tenacity when pressing.
Xherdan Shaqiri
When he was needed, he was there. Shaqiri was only in the starting eleven against Scotland and immediately shone with a dream goal. The 32-year-old has now scored at least one goal at every World Cup and European Championship since the 2014 World Cup. The "magic foot" was substituted in the quarter-final, almost converted a corner kick directly and proved to be a reliable penalty taker. Due to a lack of fitness, however, he also sat on the bench for the full distance in three games. It remains to be seen what role he will play in the national team in the future.
Ruben Vargas
Struggled unhappily for a long time in the group stage. In the round of 16 against Italy, Vargas rewarded himself with an assist and a very fine goal and was named man of the match. An injury prevented him from reaching his full potential.
Granit Xhaka
The captain picked up where he left off after his strong season with Leverkusen. Xhaka was always available, almost everything went through him. He literally tore himself apart for the national team, even a torn muscle fiber in the adductor area couldn't stop him. After the elimination against England, the record-breaking international (130 caps) shed bitter tears, only to get up again immediately afterwards and announce his next goals. Probably his best tournament in the national team.
Steven Zuber
After a long absence, he impressed in the test matches before the tournament. Had Zuber not been injured, he would probably have been in the starting line-up. As it was, he had to make do with two partial appearances against Italy and England.
Leonidas Stergiou, Vincent Sierro, Renato Steffen and Denis Zakaria all played less than 45 minutes. Gregor Kobel, Yvon Mvogo, Nico Elvedi, Cédric Zesiger, Ardon Jashari and Noah Okafor did not feature.
