Switzerland EURO 2020 Preview - History and Expectations

Published on 29 Feb 2020 | Last updated on 01 Jul 2026 | Reading time: 5 minutes

Switzerland has successfully passed each group stage under the leadership of Vladimir Petkovic at the 2014 and 2018 World Cups, as well as Euro 2016 and the UEFA League of Nations. However, the team will still strive to win a match in the eliminations of a major tournament with Petkovic as head coach. Euro 2020 is a good opportunity for this to happen, as the "Red Crosses" are in a contested group with Turkey, Italy, and Wales. In the following lines, we will look at their history of European Championships, squad, the big star in the team and share our expectations for Switzerland at this tournament.

Check out our preview of Switzerland at the 2020 European Championships and what we can expect from "Red Crosses".

Switzerland European Championships - History and successes

Switzerland joined the European Championship this summer and will strive to improve its weak record in the competition so far. Switzerland has qualified for the tournament only four times before, first in 1996 and missing only two of the next five editions. However, Euro 2016 is the first time that the Swiss team has passed the group stage, reaching the quarterfinals before collapsing on penalties against Poland. But Switzerland is a growing force in international football, as evidenced by their successive appearances in major international tournaments and qualifying for the semifinals of the first edition of the UEFA League of Nations in 2019.

The Road to Euro 2020

Switzerland finished at the top of Qualifying Group D, losing only once and winning 17 points of their eight games. Petkovic's team finished one point ahead of Denmark, four points ahead of the third - Republic of Ireland. The Swiss showed a good game in defense in the qualifiers, allowing only six goals in eight games. On the other hand, they scored 19 goals and were the second highest-scoring team in the group after Denmark (23 goals).

Euro 2020 fixtures

Switzerland is in Group A of Euro 2020 with the teams of Turkey, Italy, and Wales.

• June 12, 4:00 pm: Wales - Switzerland / Olympic Stadium, Baku /
• June 16, 10:00 pm: Italy - Switzerland / Stadio Olimpico, Rome /
• June 20, 7:00 pm: Switzerland - Turkey / Olympic Stadium, Baku /

Switzerland squad for the European Football Championship 2020

Switzerland has a lot of great players with extensive experience in the best championships in the world. One of them is goalkeeper Jan Sommer, who has become Borussia Monchengladbach's first choice since 2014. There are several goalkeepers with better reflexes than Sommer in the leading European leagues, so the Swiss can rest easy for this position. In the defense of the team are the names of Ricardo Rodriguez and Manuel Akanji. The first one has 77 games for the national team at the end of 2020. Swiss captain Granit Xhaka will be a key figure in the midfield, along with Xherdan Shaqiri, Denis Zakaria, and Steven Zuber. Offensively, the "Red Crosses" has a lot of class, as they will rely on Haris Seferovic, Admir Mehmedi, Breel Embolo, and Mario Gavranovic.

Goalkeepers: Yann Sommer (Borussia Monchengladbach), Yvon Mvogo (PSV), Jonas Omlin (Montpellier)
Defenders: Ricardo Rodriguez (Torino), Manuel Akanji (Borussia Dortmund), Nico Elvedi (Borussia Monchengladbach), Loris Benito (Bordeaux), Eray Cömert (Basel), Silvan Widmer (Basel), Kevin Mbabu (Wolfsburg), Becir Omeragic (Zurich), Fabian Schär (Newcastle United), Jordan Lotomba (Nice)
Midfielders: Granit Xhaka (Arsenal), Xherdan Shaqiri (Liverpool), Steven Zuber (Eintracht Frankfurt), Denis Zakaria (Borussia Monchengladbach), Remo Freuler (Atalanta), Edimilson Fernandes (Mainz), Djibril Sow (Eintracht Frankfurt), Christian Fassnacht (Young Boys)
Forwards: Haris Seferovic (Benfica), Admir Mehmedi (Wolfsburg), Breel Embolo (Borussia Monchengladbach), Mario Gavranovic (Dinamo Zagreb), Ruben Vargas (Augsburg)

Source: www.worldfootball.net

The Big Star: Xherdan Shaqiri

Although it is difficult for him to fight for the title of Liverpool, Xherdan Shaqiri is still one of the most important players in Switzerland and a potential player who can make a difference in every game this summer. The 29-year-old is ninth on the list with the most matches for his country. He has scored 22 goals and only seven players have more, but none of whom have represented the country since 2011. Even if he played as a striker, nowadays Shaqiri is often in the central midfield, where he can use his dribble and pass to engage central defenders, throwing them off balance, while his low center of gravity means he can get out of trouble at some point. Shaqiri scored the equalizer so that Switzerland could get penalties against Poland at Euro 2016.

Expectations for Switzerland at Euro 2020

Given the relatively equal group along with Italy, Turkey, and Wales, Switzerland is the second favorite to win Group A this summer with odds of around 5.50. Petkovic's team can also be supported to qualify for the knockout stages. Not surprisingly, Switzerland has a very low chance of winning the tournament, as the team is unlikely to be able to fight the leading teams of the Old Continent, but still, the "Red Crosses" are able to reach at least the quarterfinals of Euro 2020. Our prediction is that Switzerland will fight with Turkey for second place in this Group, but we don't expect anything more than reaching 1/8 finals of the tournament.

Odds for Switzerland

As we already mentioned a couple of times, Switzerland has a good team the teams in their group are very balanced. This is our personal view, but maybe the bookmakers are thinking the same way. They are giving a very low probability to win the group compared to Italy, but as 2nd team, in the group, they have their chances to go through the 1/8 finals. Switzerland is also out of the top 5 favorites for winning the European title in 2020. Here are the current odds for the "Red Crosses":

To win Euro 2020	67.00
To win Group A	5.50