Group H contenders
Spain
Switzerland
Honduras
Chile

Route to the finals
Switzerland topped what proved to be a very open Group 2 in the European zone.

Lining up against Greece, Latvia, Israel, Luxembourg and Moldova, the Swiss did not get off to a great start with a draw and a loss to Israel and Luxembourg respectively.

However, the shock home defeat to Luxembourg served as the turning point in their campaign and five consecutive victories followed.

A point against Latvia and a revenge victory over Luxembourg was enough to leave the Schweizer Nati needing only a draw against Israel in Basel in their final match to guarantee qualification. They duly obliged and finished one point clear of second placed Greece.

Manager
German Ottmar Hitzfeld is recognised as one of the finest coaches in Europe. His time at Borussia Dortmund (1991-’97) and Bayern Munich (’98-’04) saw him win the UEFA Champions League at both clubs – a feat only achieved by two other men – as well as pick up a raft of domestic titles.

Having played and managed in Switzerland at domestic level, the 61-year-old is well versed in the nature of Swiss football.

Player watch
Switzerland’s current captain and all-time top goalscorer Alexander Frei was in great nick during qualification.

With 73 caps and 40 goals to his name, the 30-year-old netted five times during qualifying and is sure to prove a handful in the finals.

Frei’s strike partner, Blaise N’Kufo, also struck five times during qualifying and was part of the FC Twente side that were surprise winners of the Eredivisie this season.

Competition History
First appearance: 1934
No. of appearances (inc 2010): 9
Best result: Quarter-Finals (1954)
Matches against England: 20

Squad

Goalkeepers
1	Diego Benaglio	VfL Wolfsburg, GER
12	Marco Wölfli	BSC Young Boys, SUI
21	Johnny Leoni	FC Zürich, SUI
Defenders
2	Stephan Lichtsteiner	Lazio, ITA
3	Ludovic Magnin	FC Zürich, SUI
4	Philippe Senderos	Everton, ENG
5	Steve Von Bergen	Hertha BSC, GER
13	Stéphane Grichting	AJ Auxerre, FRA
17	Reto Ziegler	Sampdoria, ITA
22	Mario Eggimann	Hannover 96, GER
Midfielders
6	Benjamin Huggel	FC Basel, SUI
7	Tranquillo Barnetta	Bayer Leverkusen, GER
8	Gökhan Inler	Udinese, ITA
11	Valon Behrami	West Ham United, ENG
14	Marco Padalino	Sampdoria, ITA
15	Hakan Yakin	FC Luzern, SUI
16	Gelson Fernandes	Saint-Etienne, FRA
20	Pirmin Schwegler	Eintracht Frankfurt, GER
23	Xherdan Shaqiri	FC Basel, SUI
Forwards
9	Alexander Frei	FC Basel, SUI
10	Blaise Nkufo	FC Twente, NED
18	Albert Bunjaku	1. FC Nürnberg, GER
19	Eren Derdiyok	Bayer Leverkusen, GER