Lowdown on Switzerland ahead of crucial Scotland clash

Switzerland manager Murat Yakin is getting set for Scotland (Martin Rickett/PA)

Scotland take on Switzerland in their second Euro 2024 Group A clash in Cologne on Wednesday night.

Steve Clarke’s side are still stinging from their 5-1 defeat by Germany in the opening game in Munich.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the Swiss side who will be their second opponents.

Form

Breel Embolo celebrates with his arms outstretched after scoring Switzerland's third goal against Hungary — Breel Embolo celebrates after scoring Switzerland’s third goal against Hungary (Darko Vojinovic/AP)

In contrast to Scotland, Switzerland go into the game on a fine run of form. One defeat in 15 games – a 1-0 loss to Romania in their final Euro 2024 qualifier – is decent albeit there are seven draws in the sequence and few opponents have been top quality. Nevertheless, no one expects anything else other than another difficult night for Clarke’s side. And while Scotland were thrashed by Germany, Switzerland, ranked 19th by FIFA, will take further confidence from their 3-1 win over Hungary in Cologne in their first match.

New face

Kwadwo Duah was making only his second appearance for the national side when he scored the opener against Hungary. The Ludogorets Razgrad striker, who was born in England, made his debut for the Switzerland national team in June in a friendly against Estonia and was called up again for the Euros to surprise in some quarters. The 27-year-old started ahead of Monaco’s Breel Embolo, who has 14 goals in 64 caps and who came off the bench to score the clinching third goal in added time. In mitigation, Embolo struggled for most of last season after an ACL injury but there is now a decision to be made by manager Murat Yakin. Switzerland can also call upon other talented individuals including Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji, Bayern Leverkusen midfielder Granit Xhaka, who was once at Arsenal, and former Liverpool winger Xherdan Shaqiri.

Manager

Yakin is a former defender who had a varied career, playing for Grasshoppers, Stuttgart, Fenerbahce, Basel, Kaiserslautern and Basel again. He won 49 caps for Switzerland between 1994 and 2004, the year when he played all three group games in the Euros. The 49-year-old played for Kaiserslautern against Rangers in the UEFA Cup in 2000 and was part of the Basel team that reached the second group stage of the Champions League in 2002-03, beating Celtic in the qualifiers after losing 3-1 in the first leg. He managed Basel, Grasshoppers and Sion, as well as other clubs such as Russian side Spartak Moscow, before he was appointed as coach of the Swiss national team in 2021.

Record

Scotland have a positive record against Switzerland with eight wins and three draws from 16 meetings. The first game between the countries took place in May 24, 1931, and the visiting Scots won 3-2 in a friendly in Geneva, with Aberdeen’s Andy Love scoring his only international goal in the 89th minute in his third and last cap. The most recent clash came 18 years ago with Switzerland winning 3-1 in a friendly at Hampden Park. Goalkeeper Neil Alexander and winger Gary Teale made second-half debuts for Walter Smith’s side, who scored through Kenny Miller. Probably the most famous goal scored against Switzerland was Ally McCoist’s winner in the 1-0 Euro 96 victory at Villa Park. There has never been a goalless draw between the teams. Scotland would take that on Wednesday night.