The Swiss senior team is one of the absolute best in the world. It has been represented at finals for years. But what about our young players?
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- While the Swiss have been playing at the top for around two decades in the major competitions, finals at the European Championship or World Cup (U17 only) are the exception rather than the rule for the SFA in the junior sector.
- No wonder, as the young players rarely get a chance to play in the Super League.
- blue Sport spoke to Patrick Bruggmann, Director of Football Development at the SFA, about the problems facing young players.
The Swiss national team impresses with its consistency. By qualifying for the 2026 finals in the USA, Canada and Mexico, it will be represented at a World Cup for the sixth time in a row.
If you include the European Championships, the Swiss record is even more impressive: since 2004, the national team has only missed one European Championship - that in 2012. With the exception of the 2008 European Championship, for which Switzerland was seeded as co-host, it has successfully completed ten of the last eleven qualifiers.
Swiss juniors between heaven and hell
The present situation with the senior team is therefore more than satisfactory. But what about our juniors? It feels like an emotional rollercoaster. The U21s lost 2:1 away to Luxembourg in the European Championship qualifiers, while the Swiss U19s went down 7:0 to Denmark in Baden. The U17s, on the other hand, are currently impressing at the World Cup in Qatar.
"Even if the results are a snapshot, it simply shows where our problem lies," says Patrick Bruggmann, Director of Football Development at the SFA, in an interview with blue Sport and explains: "As long as the players are in our youth academies, for example up to and including U17, there is actually no problem. They are well trained and competitive."
In contrast, there are problems in the transition phase from juniors to adults. "They really should have more playing time at a higher level," says Bruggmann. The players in the Danish U19s, for example, have significantly more playing time in higher leagues.
Plenty of room for improvement in individual development
In Switzerland, there is a lack of widespread conviction that it makes sense to promote juniors. FC Luzern, for example, shows that there is another way. There, the philosophy is also anchored in a strategy. "There it is clear that the young players are also given the opportunity to prove themselves at this level and that they also have the patience to prove themselves."
He can understand that this is not the case for all Super League teams. But: "I have zero understanding when it comes to the Challenge League. I simply don't see why our players can't be given more playing time there."
However, there is another point where the leverage could be applied: "I see a lot of untapped potential in the individual development of players. You could get an incredible amount out of that to simply make our players even better," says Bruggmann. However, the success of the U17s, for example, also shows that we are already doing a lot of things right at youth level.
Situation with the SFV selections
U21
The Swiss U21 national team suffered a serious setback in the European Championship qualifiers on Tuesday. Coach Sascha Stauch's team lost 2:1 in Luxembourg, a victory that was not undeserved. The home team had more shots on goal (20:6, 5:3 shots on goal).
After five games, the Swiss have eight points in Group C of the current European Championship qualifiers - two fewer than leaders France, who have also played one game less.
It will therefore be very difficult to win or finish second in the group and thus qualify directly for the 2027 European Championship finals in Albania and Serbia. The oldest SFA juniors took part in the European Championship in 2023 and 2021 - also thanks to an increase in the number of teams. The last time they were at the European Championship finals was in 2011. Xhaka, Shaqiri & Co. reached the final there under current national team director Pierluigi Tami.
U19
In terms of results, the U19 team went down even worse on Tuesday. Ilija Borenovic's squad lost 7-0 to Denmark in Baden. Despite the defeat, the U19s qualified for the next (elite) round as the best third-placed team in the group thanks to their two wins in the previous games (against Sweden and San Marino) and still have a chance of taking part in the 2026 European Championship.
The U19s made it to the European Championships in 2024, having not qualified for a tournament in fifteen years (2009).
U17
The U17s are currently a source of great joy. Switzerland also made it through the second knockout match at the World Cup in Qatar on Tuesday. Coach Luigi Pisino's team defeated Ireland 3:1 and will face Portugal in the quarter-finals. A repeat of the miracle of 2009 - when the generation around Granit Xhaka, Ricardo Rodriguez & Co. sensationally won the title - is therefore still within the realms of possibility.
However, a look at the past paints a somewhat bleak picture: the U17 team has only reached two of nine possible European Championship finals since 2015 (2018 and 2023). They have never appeared at the World Cup since winning the title in 2009 until the current campaign.
