94-446: Josef Hügi (23 January 1930 – 16 April 1995) was a Swiss international footballer who played as a striker from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. Hügi was born in the town of Riehen on 23 January 1930 and played football from an early age but did not start to take the sport all that seriously until he went to the University of Basel in the late 1940s. His first professional club
188-559: A 1–1 draw with Brazil, before beating Serbia 2–1 through a late winning goal from Xherdan Shaqiri . The game with Serbia sparked controversy for the celebrations performed by goalscorers Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka (both ethnic Albanians ), along with Stephan Lichtsteiner as the trio performed a celebration where they crossed their hands to depict a double-headed eagle , the official emblem of Albania , considered by many as an Albanian nationalist symbol, however, they were not banned by FIFA for this. Their final group game
282-401: A round-robin tournament in which each team is scheduled for three matches against other teams in the same group. This means that a total of six matches are played within a group. The last round of matches of each group is scheduled at the same time to preserve fairness among all four teams. The top two teams from each group advance to the knockout stage. Points are used to rank the teams within
376-426: A "world football championship for amateurs", and took responsibility for managing the event. This paved the way for the world's first intercontinental football competition for nations, at the 1920 Summer Olympics , contested by Egypt and 13 European teams, and won by Belgium . Uruguay won the next two Olympic football tournaments in 1924 and 1928 . Those were also the first two open world championships, as 1924
470-477: A 2–2 draw, Switzerland's hopes of qualifying were mathematically made impossible. In the final game, Switzerland earned redemption against Montenegro as they came out with a 2–0 win. Switzerland's top goalscorer during the qualifying period was Xherdan Shaqiri, with 4 goals. At the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Switzerland were drawn to play France , Honduras and Ecuador in the group stage . They advanced to
564-415: A FIFA World Cup record by being eliminated from the tournament despite not conceding a single goal, being eliminated by Ukraine after penalties in the round of sixteen . They did not concede a goal until a match against Chile at the 2010 FIFA World Cup , conceding in the 75th minute , setting a World Cup tournament record for consecutive minutes without conceding a goal. Switzerland and Austria were
658-667: A controversial penalty scored by Ricardo Rodríguez , and three days later played in the second leg , drawing 0–0 and advancing to the World Cup finals in Russia with a 1–0 aggregate win. Before the World Cup , Switzerland were ranked 6th in the world ranking , even ranking higher than eventual World Cup winners France . At the World Cup, Switzerland were drawn to play Brazil , Serbia and Costa Rica in Group E . They began their campaign with
752-482: A defeat. In their first match at the 2010 FIFA World Cup , the team defeated eventual champions Spain 1–0 with a goal by Gelson Fernandes , but they were still eliminated in the group stage . In the second match, a goal scored by Mark González in the 75th minute of the game against Chile ended a 559-minute streak without conceding a goal in World Cup matches, beating the record previously held by Italy by nine minutes. Switzerland did not advance further than
846-450: A dozen FIFA officials were made since that time, particularly on 29 May and 3 December. By the end of May 2015, a total of nine FIFA officials and five executives of sports and broadcasting markets had already been charged on corruption. At the time, FIFA president Sepp Blatter announced he would relinquish his position in February 2016. On 4 June 2015, Chuck Blazer while co-operating with
940-413: A form, the submission of which represents the official confirmation of the candidacy. After this, a FIFA designated group of inspectors visit the country to identify that the country meets the requirements needed to host the event and a report on the country is produced. The decision on who will host the World Cup is usually made six or seven years in advance of the tournament. There have been occasions where
1034-517: A formula based on the FIFA World Rankings or performances in recent World Cups, and drawn to separate groups. The other teams are assigned to different "pots", usually based on geographical criteria, and teams in each pot are drawn at random to the eight groups. Since 1998 , constraints have been applied to the draw to ensure that no group contains more than two European teams or more than one team from any other confederation. Each group plays
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#17330856452011128-566: A group that featured Russia , the Republic of Ireland , Albania and Georgia . The Swiss finished with 21 points and qualified for the finals in Portugal , where they were drawn in Group B with defending champions France , England and Croatia . They began the tournament with a 0–0 draw with Croatia before succumbing to a 3–0 defeat to England in the next match. They lost their final match against France; losing 3–1 and finishing bottom of
1222-443: A group. Since 1994 , three points have been awarded for a win , one for a draw and none for a loss (before, winners received two points). Considering six matches in a group each with three possible outcomes (win, draw, loss), there are 729 (= 3 ) possible final table outcomes for the 40 possible combinations of the four teams' points. However, 14 of the 40 points combinations (or 207 of the 729 possible outcomes) lead to ties between
1316-504: A particularly dark cloud because of the 2015 FIFA corruption case, allegations and criminal charges of bribery, fraud and money laundering to corrupt the issuing of media and marketing rights (rigged bids) for FIFA games, with FIFA officials accused of taking bribes totaling more than $ 150 million over 24 years. In late May, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a 47-count indictment with charges of racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy against 14 people. Arrests of over
1410-604: A pattern of alternating the hosts between the Americas and Europe, which continued until the 1998 FIFA World Cup . The 2002 FIFA World Cup , hosted jointly by South Korea and Japan, was the first one held in Asia, and the first tournament with multiple hosts. South Africa became the first African nation to host the World Cup in 2010 . The 2014 FIFA World Cup was hosted by Brazil, the first held in South America since Argentina 1978 , and
1504-408: A political matter so why not have more Africans? The competition is to bring all the people of all the world. If you don't give the possibility to participate, they don't improve." In October 2016, FIFA president Gianni Infantino stated his support for a 48-team World Cup in 2026. On 10 January 2017, FIFA confirmed the 2026 World Cup will have 48 finalist teams. By May 2015, the games were under
1598-452: A revised format of the 2026 tournament, which features 12 groups of four teams each, with the top 8 third-placed teams joining the group winners and runners-up in a new round of 32. Early World Cups were given to countries at meetings of FIFA's congress. The locations were controversial because South America and Europe were by far the two centres of strength in football and travel between them required three weeks by boat. The decision to hold
1692-452: A women's version, although a FIFA Women's Club World Cup has been proposed. The FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup is held biannually, including the year before each Women's World Cup. Both tournaments were awarded in a single bidding process on three occasions, with the U-20 tournament serving as a dress rehearsal for the larger competition each time ( 2010 , 2014 and 2018 ). From 1930 to 1970,
1786-534: Is controlled by the Swiss Football Association . Switzerland's best performances at the FIFA World Cup have been three quarter-finals appearances, in 1934 , 1938 and 1954 . They hosted the competitions in 1954, where they played against Austria in the quarter-finals match, losing 7–5 , which still stands as the highest scoring World Cup match ever. At the 2006 FIFA World Cup , Switzerland set
1880-430: Is followed by the quarter-finals, the semi-finals, the third-place match (contested by the losing semi-finalists), and the final. On 10 January 2017, FIFA approved a new format, the 48-team World Cup (to accommodate more teams), which was to consist of 16 groups of three teams each, with two teams qualifying from each group, to form a round of 32 knockout stage, to be implemented by 2026. On 14 March 2023, FIFA approved
1974-491: Is not awarded to the winning nation permanently. World Cup winners retain the trophy only until the post-match celebration is finished. They are awarded a gold-plated replica rather than the solid gold original immediately afterwards. All members (players, coaches, and managers) of the top three teams receive medals with an insignia of the World Cup Trophy ; winners' (gold), runners-up' (silver), and third-place (bronze). In
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#17330856452012068-480: Is partly to avoid a similar scenario to the bidding process for the 2014 tournament, where Brazil was the only official bidder. The 2026 FIFA World Cup was chosen to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, marking the first time a World Cup has been shared by three host nations. The 2026 tournament will be the biggest World Cup ever held, with 48 teams playing 104 matches. Sixty matches will take place in
2162-593: Is scheduled to expand to 48 teams, starting with the 2026 tournament . As of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, 22 final tournaments have been held since the event's inception in 1930, and a total of 80 national teams have competed. The trophy has been won by eight national teams. With five wins, Brazil is the only team to have played in every tournament. The other World Cup winners are Germany and Italy , with four titles each; Argentina , with three titles; France and inaugural winner Uruguay , each with two titles; and England and Spain , with one title each. The World Cup
2256-449: Is the most prestigious association football competition in the world, as well as the most widely viewed and followed sporting event in the world. The viewership of the 2018 World Cup was estimated to be 3.57 billion, close to half of the global population, while the engagement with the 2022 World Cup was estimated to be 5 billion, with about 1.5 billion people watching the final match . Seventeen countries have hosted
2350-540: The Jules Rimet Trophy was awarded to the World Cup winning team. It was originally simply known as the World Cup or Coupe du Monde , but in 1946 it was renamed after the FIFA president Jules Rimet who set up the first tournament. In 1970 , Brazil 's third victory in the tournament entitled them to keep the trophy permanently. However, the trophy was stolen in 1983 and has never been recovered, apparently melted down by
2444-657: The 1906 Intercalated Games . After FIFA was founded in 1904, it tried to arrange an international football tournament between nations outside the Olympic framework in Switzerland in 1906. These were very early days for international football, and the official history of FIFA describes the competition as having been unsuccessful. At the 1908 Summer Olympics in London , football became an official Olympic sport. Planned by The Football Association (FA), England's football governing body,
2538-650: The 1936 Summer Olympics , but was now overshadowed by the more prestigious World Cup. The issues facing the early World Cup tournaments were the difficulties of intercontinental travel, and war. Few South American teams were willing to travel to Europe for the 1934 World Cup and all North and South American nations except Brazil and Cuba boycotted the 1938 tournament. Brazil was the only South American team to compete in both. The 1942 and 1946 competitions, which Germany and Brazil sought to host, were cancelled due to World War II . The 1950 World Cup , held in Brazil ,
2632-426: The 2002 edition , fourth-place medals were awarded to hosts South Korea . Before the 1978 tournament, medals were only awarded to the eleven players on the pitch at the end of the final and the third-place match. In November 2007, FIFA announced that all members of World Cup-winning squads between 1930 and 1974 were to be retroactively awarded winners' medals. Since 2006, winners of the competition are also awarded
2726-406: The 2022 tournament . The contest starts with the qualification phase , which takes place over the preceding three years to determine which teams qualify for the tournament phase. In the tournament phase, 32 teams compete for the title at venues within the host nation(s) over the course of about a month. The host nation(s) automatically qualify for the group stage of the tournament. The competition
2820-678: The Asian Football Confederation and the Confederation of African Football , two shared between CONCACAF and CONMEBOL , and a guaranteed place for the Oceania Football Confederation . Platini was clear about why he wanted to expand the World Cup. He said: "[The World Cup is] not based on the quality of the teams because you don't have the best 32 at the World Cup ;... but it's a good compromise. ... It's
2914-707: The Caribbean Football Union 's region a position in the World Cup. In the edition of 25 October 2013 of the FIFA Weekly Blatter wrote that: "From a purely sporting perspective, I would like to see globalisation finally taken seriously, and the African and Asian national associations accorded the status they deserve at the FIFA World Cup. It cannot be that the European and South American confederations lay claim to
Josef Hügi - Misplaced Pages Continue
3008-506: The FBI and the Swiss authorities admitted that he and the other members of FIFA's then-executive committee were bribed in order to promote the 1998 and 2010 World Cups. On 10 June 2015, Swiss authorities seized computer data from the offices of Sepp Blatter . The same day, FIFA postponed the bidding process for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in light of the allegations surrounding bribery in the awarding of
3102-581: The World Cup , is an international association football competition among the senior men's national teams of the members of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association ( FIFA ), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has been held every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930 , with the exception of 1942 and 1946 due to the Second World War . The reigning champions are Argentina , who won their third title at
3196-674: The first World Cup in Uruguay, for example, led to only four European nations competing. The next two World Cups were both held in Europe. The decision to hold the second of these in France was disputed, as the South American countries understood that the location would alternate between the two continents. Both Argentina and Uruguay thus boycotted the 1938 FIFA World Cup . Since the 1958 FIFA World Cup , to avoid future boycotts or controversy, FIFA began
3290-476: The quarter-finals in 1938 , after beating Germany in the round of sixteen , winning 4–2 after a replay but were knocked out by Hungary , losing 2–0. At the 1950 World Cup , Switzerland were drawn in a group with Brazil , Yugoslavia and Mexico , where they lost 4–0 to Yugoslavia in the opening match, drew 2–2 with Brazil in their second match and beating Mexico 2–1 in their final group mach, and finished third in their group. On 22 July 1946, Switzerland
3384-400: The round of sixteen with a 3–0 win over Honduras , with a hat-trick from Xherdan Shaqiri . In the knockout match against Argentina, they lost 1–0, conceding to Ángel Di María in the 118th minute. At Euro 2016 , Switzerland were selected to play in Group A of the tournament; alongside hosts France , Albania and Romania . In the first game, Switzerland won 1–0 over Albania, with
3478-453: The 2018 and 2022 tournaments. Then-secretary general Jérôme Valcke stated, "Due to the situation, I think it's nonsense to start any bidding process for the time being." On 28 October 2015, Blatter and FIFA VP Michel Platini, a potential candidate for presidency, were suspended for 90 days; both maintained their innocence in statements made to the news media. On 3 December 2015 two FIFA vice-presidents were arrested on suspicion of bribery in
3572-486: The French players, and also for the ball bursting during a challenge between Antoine Griezmann and Valon Behrami when they both converged on the ball, with the game also attracting attention for its poor surface, which was criticised by both coaches and players of the two teams; after the game, Switzerland's kit manufacturer had blamed "faulty material" for the incidents regarding the jerseys being ripped. Switzerland, due to
3666-535: The Swiss were inferior to the Koreans by number of goals scored, meaning that the last game a must-win. The Swiss then managed to beat South Korea 2–0 in the final match, occupying first place in their group while knocking the Asians out of the tournament. In the round of sixteen, Switzerland faced Ukraine , but lost on penalty shootout in a match that has been criticized as the worst game in World Cup history. Yet, Switzerland
3760-422: The Swiss. In qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup , Switzerland were drawn with Portugal , Hungary , Faroe Islands , Latvia and Andorra . The Swiss began their qualifying group with a shock 2–0 win over European champions Portugal, who had won the tournament less than two months prior to playing with them on 6 September. Afterwards, they beat Hungary 2–3, Andorra 2–1, Faroe Islands 2–0, Latvia 1–0 in
3854-482: The World Cup, most recently Qatar , who hosted the 2022 event. The 2026 tournament will be jointly hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico, which will give Mexico the distinction of being the first country to host games in three World Cups. The world's first international football match was a challenge match played in Glasgow in 1872 between Scotland and England . The first international tournament for nations,
Josef Hügi - Misplaced Pages Continue
3948-643: The away game, took a 2–0 lead before being pegged back to a 2–2 draw, and also took four points from Scotland, winning 3–1 at home and drawing 1–1 away. Against the Portuguese, Switzerland drew 1–1 at home and lost 1–0 in the away fixture in Porto, their only defeat of the qualifying campaign. Their opening match against hosts United States , on 18 June 1994, was played indoors at the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit , and
4042-410: The bottom side of the trophy bears the engraved year and name of each FIFA World Cup winner since 1974 . The description of the trophy by Gazzaniga was: "The lines spring out from the base, rising in spirals, stretching out to receive the world. From the remarkable dynamic tensions of the compact body of the sculpture rise the figures of two athletes at the stirring moment of victory." This new trophy
4136-429: The co-hosts of UEFA Euro 2008 , where the Swiss made their third appearance in the competitions, but failed for a third time to progress from the group stage. However, since then, the Swiss made it to the round of 16 during Euro 2016 , and achieved a record-best quarter-finals showing at Euro 2020 after eliminating world champions France . Overall, Switzerland's best ever result at an official football competition
4230-631: The colours of the shorts and socks are interchangeable if there is a minor clash. Switzerland, since being established in 1895, have always had the same colour code, as tradition and homage to the national colours which are derived from the Swiss flag . The current kit manufacturer is Puma , who have made their kits since 1998. The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled. Win Draw Loss Fixture The following players were called up to
4324-503: The competition. Rimet eventually persuaded teams from Belgium , France , Romania , and Yugoslavia to make the trip. In total, 13 nations took part: seven from South America, four from Europe, and two from North America. The first two World Cup matches took place simultaneously on 13 July 1930, and were won by France and the United States , who defeated Mexico 4–1 and Belgium 3–0 respectively. The first goal in World Cup history
4418-517: The country's first World Cup since 1994. In the tournament, Switzerland was drawn in Group G with former world champions France , 2002 World Cup's fourth-place finisher South Korea and debutant Togo . In their first encounter, Switzerland bravely held the mighty France and Zinedine Zidane 0–0, before overcoming the Togolese 2–0 in the second match, tied with the South Koreans four points, however
4512-486: The draw, finished second in the group to set up a tie against Poland in the round of sixteen ; initially the Swiss conceded but managed to find a late equalizer from Xherdan Shaqiri , who scored a bicycle-kick to send the game into extra-time, but the Swiss were knocked out as Granit Xhaka had missed the second penalty during the penalty shootout , as all other players managed to convert their penalties, with Poland winning 5–4 on penalties to go through and knock out
4606-683: The event was for amateur players only and was regarded suspiciously as a show rather than a competition. Great Britain (represented by the England national amateur football team ) won the gold medals . They repeated the feat at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm . With the Olympic event continuing to be a contest between amateur teams only, Sir Thomas Lipton organised the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy tournament in Turin in 1909. The Lipton tournament
4700-419: The first defending champions to play qualifying matches. The final tournament format since 1998 has had 32 national teams competing over the course of a month in the host nations. There are two stages: the group stage, followed by the knockout stage. In the group stage, teams compete within eight groups of four teams each. Eight teams are seeded, including the hosts, with the other seeded teams selected using
4794-448: The first five games, leading the group on maximum points. In the reverse fixtures, they beat Faroe Islands 2–0, Andorra 3–0, Latvia 3–0 and Hungary 5–2, before facing Portugal in the final group game, where they lost 2–0, meaning they would have to play in the play-offs ; where they were ranked as the best second-placed team , and were drawn to play Northern Ireland . In the first leg , played on 9 November, they won 1–0 through
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#17330856452014888-470: The group after a 0–0 draw with Honduras in the third and final group match. Switzerland did not qualify for UEFA Euro 2012 ; missing out on the tournament for the first time in a decade, as they finished third in the qualifying group, a group featuring England , Montenegro , Wales and Bulgaria . Switzerland's initial start in qualifying was overall poor; losing 1–3 to England in the first game played, in which Xherdan Shaqiri scored his first goal for
4982-409: The group, losing all three games, losing 3–1 to Chile , 2–1 to West Germany and 3–0 to Italy. A similar result occurred at the 1966 World Cup , where Switzerland again finished at the bottom of their group losing all three of their matches, 5–0 to West Germany, 2–1 to Spain and 2–0 to Argentina . In 1992, Switzerland appointed English manager Roy Hodgson as head coach of the national team; at
5076-506: The group. Their only goal of the entire tournament was scored by Johan Vonlanthen , who became the youngest ever goalscorer at the Euros when he scored the equalizing goal against France; surpassing the previous record set only four days earlier by Wayne Rooney by three months. The Swiss managed to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup , overcoming Turkey by the away goals rule in Istanbul ,
5170-522: The host country of the inaugural World Cup tournament . The national associations of selected nations were invited to send a team, but the choice of Uruguay as a venue for the competition meant a long and costly trip across the Atlantic Ocean for European sides, especially in the midst of the Great Depression . As such, no European country pledged to send a team until two months before the start of
5264-450: The hosts of multiple future tournaments were announced at the same time, as was the case for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups , which were awarded to Russia and Qatar , with Qatar becoming the first Middle Eastern country to host the tournament. For the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, the final tournament was rotated between confederations, allowing only countries from the chosen confederation (Africa in 2010, South America in 2014) to bid to host
5358-520: The inaugural British Home Championship , took place in 1884 and included games between England, Scotland, Wales , and Ireland . As football grew in popularity in other parts of the world at the start of the 20th century, it was held as a demonstration sport with no medals awarded at the 1900 and 1904 Summer Olympics ; however, the International Olympic Committee has retroactively upgraded their status to official events, as well as
5452-475: The knockout stage as one of the best third-placed teams. In the round of 16 , they defeated World Cup champions France on penalties, after finishing 3–3 and overcoming a 1–3 second half deficit, to have their first knockout phase win in a major tournament since the 1938 World Cup. In the subsequent quarter-final game against Spain , they once again took the game to penalties, after trailing 1–0. However, after converting only one of their four penalties, they exited
5546-649: The last twelve months. The best result Switzerland have achieved thus far is the quarter-finals of the World Cup on three occasions, in 1934 , 1938 and 1954 , while they also reached the same stage at Euro 2020 and 2024 . They earned a silver medal at the 1924 Olympic Games , held in Paris , where they lost 3–0 to Uruguay in the final . As of 18 November 2024, after the match against [REDACTED] Spain . Positive Record Neutral Record Negative Record FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup , often called
5640-570: The majority of the berths at the World Cup." Those two remarks suggested to commentators that Blatter could be putting himself forward for re-election to the FIFA Presidency. Following the magazine's publication, Blatter's would-be opponent for the FIFA Presidency, UEFA President Michel Platini , responded that he intended to extend the World Cup to 40 national associations, increasing the number of participants by eight. Platini said that he would allocate an additional berth to UEFA , two each to
5734-451: The men's football tournament at the Olympics is not a top-level tournament, and since 1992, an under-23 tournament with each team allowed three over-age players. Women's football made its Olympic debut in 1996 . The FIFA Confederations Cup was a tournament held one year before the World Cup at the World Cup host nation(s) as a dress rehearsal for the upcoming World Cup. It is contested by
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#17330856452015828-451: The national team, followed by a 1–0 defeat to Montenegro. Switzerland then recorded a 4–1 win over Wales before consecutive draws against Bulgaria (0–0) and England (2–2). Switzerland's hopes of qualifying were restored with a 3–1 win over Bulgaria, with a hat-trick from Xherdan Shaqiri. However, following a 2–0 loss to Wales (in which Reto Ziegler earned a red card ) and Montenegro's surprising last-minute equalizer against England in
5922-446: The number of places awarded to each of the continental zones beforehand, generally based on the relative strength of the confederations' teams. The qualification process can start as early as almost three years before the final tournament and last over a two-year period. The formats of the qualification tournaments differ between confederations. Usually, one or two places are awarded to winners of intercontinental play-offs . For example,
6016-414: The only goal being scored by Fabian Schär in the fifth minute of the game. The next match was a 1–1 draw with Romania, with Switzerland initially conceding from a penalty but equalizing in the second half following a goal from Admir Mehmedi . The final group game was against France, drawing 0–0 . However, the game spread notoriety for several Swiss players' jerseys being ripped during challenges with
6110-603: The plan but, in total, the idea is supported by 166 of the 210 member associations of FIFA. An equivalent tournament for women's football , the FIFA Women's World Cup , was first held in 1991 in China . The women's tournament is smaller in scale and profile than the men's, but is growing; the number of entrants for the 2007 tournament was 120, more than double that of 1991. Men's football has been included in every Summer Olympic Games except 1896 and 1932. Unlike many other sports,
6204-436: The previous two World Cups. Uruguay won the tournament again after defeating the host nation Brazil, in the match called " Maracanazo " (Portuguese: Maracanaço ). In the tournaments between 1934 and 1978 , 16 teams competed in each tournament, except in 1938, when Austria was absorbed into Germany after qualifying, leaving the tournament with 15 teams, and in 1950, when India , Scotland , and Turkey withdrew, leaving
6298-412: The quarter-finalists in 1994, 1998, 2006 and 2018 were all from Europe or South America and so were the finalists of all tournaments so far. Two hundred teams entered the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds. 198 nations attempted to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup . A record 204 countries entered qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup . In October 2013, Sepp Blatter spoke of guaranteeing
6392-541: The right to wear the FIFA Champions Badge , up until the time at which the winner of the next competition is decided. Since the second World Cup in 1934 , qualifying tournaments have been held to thin the field for the final tournament. They are held within the six FIFA continental zones ( Africa , Asia , North and Central America and Caribbean , South America , Oceania , and Europe ), overseen by their respective confederations. For each tournament, FIFA decides
6486-714: The same Zurich hotel where seven FIFA officials had been arrested in May. An additional 16 indictments by the US Department of Justice were announced on the same day. A biennial World Cup plan was first proposed by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation at the 71st FIFA Congress on 21 May 2021 and prominently backed by former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger and national federations in Africa and Asia. Continental confederations such as UEFA and CONMEBOL are not on board with
6580-420: The second and third places. In such case, the ranking among these teams is determined by: The knockout stage is a single-elimination tournament in which teams play each other in one-off matches, with extra time and penalty shootouts used to decide the winner if necessary. It begins with the round of 16 (or the second round) in which the winner of each group plays against the runner-up of another group. This
6674-526: The squad for the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League matches on 15 and 18 November 2024 against Serbia and Spain , respectively. On 11 November, Manuel Akanji , Pascal Loretz , Dan Ndoye , and Denis Zakaria withdrew from the squad due to injury, so Ulisses Garcia and David von Ballmoos were called up in their absence. On 16 November, Cédric Zesiger was called up to replace the injured Aurèle Amenda , ill Ardon Jashari , and suspended Breel Embolo . The following active players have also been called up in
6768-557: The thieves. After 1970, a new trophy, known as the FIFA World Cup Trophy , was designed. The experts of FIFA, coming from seven countries, evaluated the 53 presented models, finally opting for the work of the Italian designer Silvio Gazzaniga . The new trophy is 36 cm (14.2 in) high, made of solid 18 carat (75%) gold and weighs 6.175 kg (13.6 lb). The base contains two layers of semi-precious malachite while
6862-559: The time of his appointment, the Swiss had not qualified for any major tournament since 1966. Under his guidance, Switzerland rose to 3rd in the FIFA World Ranking in August 1993, which still remains their highest FIFA ranking to this day. Hodgson led Switzerland to the 1994 FIFA World Cup , losing just one game during qualifying, in a group that included Italy , Portugal , and Scotland . The Swiss won their home tie with Italy, and in
6956-571: The tournament and returned in 1911 to successfully defend their title. Prior to the Lipton competition, from 1876 to 1904, games that were considered to be the " football world championship " were meetings between leading English and Scottish clubs, such as the 1895 game between Sunderland A.F.C. and the Heart of Midlothian F.C. , which Sunderland won. In 1914, FIFA agreed to recognise the Olympic tournament as
7050-645: The tournament at this stage. On 9 August 2021, Yakin became the manager of the Swiss national team. During the 2022 World Cup qualification , Switzerland finished in the first place ahead of Italy in Group C , which granted them a spot in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. During the World Cup, Switzerland finished second in Group G to qualify the round of 16, where they lost 6–1 to Portugal. In 2023, Switzerland played against Romania, Israel , Belarus , Kosovo , and Andorra to qualify for Euro 2024 . The Swiss finished second behind Romania. The Euro 2024 tournament
7144-537: The tournament with 13 teams. Most of the participating nations were from Europe and South America, with a small minority from North America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. These teams were usually defeated easily by the European and South American teams. Until 1982, the only teams from outside Europe and South America to advance out of the first round were: United States , semi-finalists in 1930; Cuba , quarter-finalists in 1938; North Korea , quarter-finalists in 1966 ; and Mexico , quarter-finalists in 1970 . The tournament
7238-401: The tournament. The rotation policy was introduced after the controversy surrounding Germany's victory over South Africa in the vote to host the 2006 tournament . However, the policy of continental rotation did not continue beyond 2014, so any country, except those belonging to confederations that hosted the two preceding tournaments, can apply as hosts for World Cups starting from 2018 . This
7332-442: The two teams drew 1–1 in the opening match of the World Cup. In the next match, they won 4–1 over Romania, and in their final game against Colombia, the Swiss lost 2–0. Nevertheless, Switzerland still qualified from the group , but were knocked out by Spain , losing 3–0. At UEFA Euro 1996, Switzerland once again easily qualified for the tournament hosted in England , as they topped their qualifying group, losing just once, which
7426-542: The winner of the Oceanian zone and the fifth-placed team from the Asian zone entered a play-off for a spot in the 2010 World Cup . From the 1938 World Cup onwards, host nations receive automatic qualification to the final tournament. This right was also granted to the defending champions between 1938 and 2002, but was withdrawn from the 2006 FIFA World Cup onward, requiring the champions to qualify. Brazil , winners in 2002 , were
7520-768: The winners of each of the six FIFA confederation championships, along with the FIFA World Cup champion and the host country. The first edition took place in 1992 and the last edition was played in 2017 . In March 2019, FIFA confirmed that the tournament would no longer be active owing to an expansion of the FIFA Club World Cup in 2021. FIFA also organises international tournaments for youth football ( FIFA U-20 World Cup , FIFA U-17 World Cup , FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup , FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup ), club football ( FIFA Club World Cup ), and football variants such as futsal ( FIFA Futsal World Cup ) and beach soccer ( FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup ). The latter three do not have
7614-468: Was FC Basel , whom he signed for in 1948 . He would spend the next fourteen years of his life playing for the RotBlau , playing 320 league matches and scoring 224 goals. In 1962, he signed for FC Zürich but he played just two games there and went on to spend the rest of his career in the lower divisions with FC Porrentruy and FC Laufen . He became a coach at FC Basel after his retirement from playing. He
7708-687: Was capped 34 times for the Swiss national team between 1951 and 1960, scoring 22 goals. At the 1954 FIFA World Cup , he scored six goals, tied second-best for the tournament, which makes him the all-time top goalscorer for Switzerland in World Cups. Switzerland national football team The Switzerland national football team ( German : Schweizer Fussballnationalmannschaft , Italian : Nazionale di calcio della Svizzera , French : Équipe nationale suisse de football , Romansh : Squadra naziunala da ballape da la Svizra ) represents Switzerland in men's international football . The national team
7802-895: Was a 1–2 defeat to Turkey. They were drawn in Group A , but their tournament was disappointing overall; as they finished bottom of the group. Their opening match was against hosts England , and the two sides drew 1–1. In their second match, they lost 2–0 to the Netherlands, and in their final group game, lost 1–0 to Scotland. Switzerland failed to qualify for the 1998 FIFA World Cup , hosted in France , as they finished fourth in their qualifying group , winning three games; 3–2 against Finland , 1–0 against Hungary and 5–0 against Azerbaijan , drawing one game against Hungary (1–1), and losing three games; 1–0 against Azerbaijan and losing both games against Norway , losing 1–0 at home and 5–0 away. In qualifying for UEFA Euro 2004 , Switzerland finished top of
7896-576: Was a championship between individual clubs (not national teams) from different nations, each of which represented an entire nation. The competition is sometimes described as The First World Cup , and featured the most prestigious professional club sides from Italy, Germany and Switzerland, but the FA of England refused to be associated with the competition and declined the offer to send a professional team. Lipton invited West Auckland , an amateur side from County Durham , to represent England instead. West Auckland won
7990-579: Was a major success for Switzerland, as they finished second in their group with 5 points, moving onto the Round of 16. During the Round of 16, Switzerland caused a major upset by defeating defending champions Italy and reaching the Quarter-Finals for the second time in their history. The Switzerland national team's traditional home kit is red shirts, white shorts and red socks, with the away kit being reverse with white shirts, red shorts and white socks, although
8084-475: Was awarded the right to host the 1954 World Cup unopposed, in Luxembourg City . At the World Cup, Switzerland finished second in their group behind England ; beating Italy and losing to England, but qualified for the quarter-finals after beating Italy in a group play-off . They were knocked out of the tournament after losing 7–5 to Austria . At the 1962 World Cup , Switzerland finished bottom of
8178-627: Was expanded to 24 teams in 1982 , and then to 32 in 1998 , allowing more teams from Africa, Asia and North America to take part. Since then, teams from these regions have enjoyed more success, with several having reached the quarter-finals: Mexico , quarter-finalists in 1986 ; Cameroon , quarter-finalists in 1990 ; South Korea , finishing in fourth place in 2002 ; Senegal , along with USA , both quarter-finalists in 2002; Ghana , quarter-finalists in 2010; Costa Rica , quarter-finalists in 2014; and Morocco , finishing in fourth place in 2022. European and South American teams continue to dominate, e.g.,
8272-574: Was scored by Lucien Laurent of France. In the final , Uruguay defeated Argentina 4–2 in front of 93,000 spectators in Montevideo , and became the first nation to win the World Cup. After the creation of the World Cup, FIFA and the IOC disagreed over the status of amateur players; football was dropped from the 1932 Summer Olympics . After the IOC and FIFA worked out their differences, Olympic football returned at
8366-550: Was the silver medal they earned in 1924 , after losing to Uruguay 3–0 in the finals of the 1924 Olympic Games . At the 1924 Paris Olympic Games , Switzerland finished with a silver medal after losing to Uruguay in the final , losing 3–0. The team's debut appearance at the World Cup was in 1934 , where they reached the quarter-finals after beating the Netherlands 3–2 in the round of sixteen before getting knocked out by Czechoslovakia . Switzerland once again reached
8460-423: Was the first occasion where consecutive World Cups were held outside Europe. The host country is now chosen in a vote by FIFA's Council. This is done under an exhaustive ballot system. The national football association of a country desiring to host the event receives a "Hosting Agreement" from FIFA, which explains the steps and requirements that are expected from a strong bid. The bidding association also receives
8554-431: Was the first to include British football associations. Scotland , England , Wales , and Northern Ireland had withdrawn from FIFA in 1920, partly out of unwillingness to play against the countries they had been at war with, and partly as a protest against foreign influence on football. The teams rejoined in 1946 following FIFA's invitation. The tournament also saw the return of 1930 champions Uruguay , who had boycotted
8648-564: Was the only team to be eliminated without conceding a single goal. Switzerland, along with Austria, were chosen as co-hosts of UEFA Euro 2008 . The Swiss were drawn in Group A with Portugal , Turkey and the Czech Republic . Their opening match was a 1–0 loss to the Czech Republic, followed by a 1–2 defeat to Turkey. Their third match was against Portugal, with Switzerland winning 2–0 to ensure that Portugal would top their group with
8742-653: Was the start of FIFA's professional era, and is the reason why Uruguay is allowed to wear 4 stars . Due to the success of the Olympic football tournaments, FIFA, with President Jules Rimet as the driving force, again started looking at staging its own international tournament outside of the Olympics. On 28 May 1928, the FIFA Congress in Amsterdam decided to stage a world championship. With Uruguay now two-time official football world champions and to celebrate their centenary of independence in 1930, FIFA named Uruguay as
8836-797: Was with Costa Rica; which they drew 2–2 , with Blerim Džemaili and Josip Drmić scoring; thus finishing second in the group. They were drawn to play Sweden in the round of sixteen , a fixture they lost 1–0 , getting knocked out of the tournament. On 23 January 2018, Switzerland were selected to play in the inaugural edition of the UEFA Nations League , a tournament contested by all UEFA member's national teams , being drawn to play in League A , in Group 2 , against Belgium and Iceland . At Euro 2020 , postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19 , Switzerland finished third in Group A which contained Italy, Wales and Turkey; however, they managed to qualify to
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