"That's what I expect from the team" Pierluigi Tami on the World Cup goal, Yakin's line-up and his last tournament as national team director

The starting signal for the Swiss national team's World Cup adventure has been given! After the start on Whit Monday, Pierluigi Tami answers questions from the media and talks about his last tournament as national team director.

Pierluigi Tami on ...

... the World Cup preparations: "I'm glad we're back in St.Gallen. We already successfully prepared here for the European Championship in Germany in 2024. Our goal for this week is clear: we expect all the players with a smile and then want to travel to North America in top condition. The World Cup starts now, preparation is extremely important."

... his last tournament as national team director: "I'm motivated and ready, but I'm staying calm. It's already my fourth World Cup. In 2006 with Köbi Kuhn and 2010 with Ottmar Hitzfeld I was there as an analyst, now for the second time with Murat Yakin as director. My feeling is very positive, but in the end it's the performance on the pitch that counts."

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... his expectations of the national team: "In the qualifiers, I saw a Switzerland that played very convincing football. I want to see the same at the World Cup. We have a clear idea of how we want to play football - regardless of the opponent. We want to be courageous. The test matches in the USA last year gave us important insights. The team is ready."

... the goal at the World Cup: "I expect to reach at least the round of 16. But because the World Cup is being held with 48 teams, we will certainly have to win a knockout game. If we do well in the group stage, everything will take care of itself. Murat Yakin has said that we want to play the best World Cup ever for Switzerland. That's how I see it too."

... a possible clash with Portugal in the round of 16: "I'd be happy if we could get revenge. The 1:6 in the round of 16 in 2022 hurt. We had problems on and off the pitch back then and our preparation was poor. A lot has changed for us since then and we have a lot of new people on the staff. Of course we can still lose to Portugal, but it would certainly be a different game to 2022."

... few young players in the World Cup squad: "I wasn't surprised. Every player brings arguments for a call-up, Yakin clearly wanted to focus on experience and players who already know each other very well. The future belongs to the young players like Alvyn Sanches, who are not in the squad now."

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... the World Cup with 48 teams: "Even if there are more smaller nations taking part this time, we mustn't underestimate any opponent. The tournament will take longer, but we'll have an extra day's rest. That can also be an advantage. But there will be one more knockout game, so it will be more difficult. But now our focus is fully on our group opponents Qatar, Bosnia and Canada."

... the Nati's group opponents: "It's clear that we want to win against all three opponents. If we do our job well, we can do it. First and foremost, we focus on ourselves, but we also have to study our opponents. We have three match analysts who look at every detail. We certainly won't underestimate any team."