Star player:
Tranquillo Barnetta

Previous appearances:
1934 (quarter-finals), 1938 (quarter-finals), 1950 (first round), 1954 (quarter-finals), 1962 (first round), 1966 (first round), 1994 (second round), 2006 (second round).

How they qualified
UEFA
Israel (a)             2-2
Luxembourg (h)   1-2
Latvia (h)             2-1
Greece (a)           2-1
Moldova (a)         2-0
Moldova (h)         2-0
Greece (h)          2-0
Latvia (a)            2-2
Luxembourg (a)   3-0
Israel (h)             0-0

Chances:
In Hitzfeld the Swiss could not wish for a manager with greater nous, and they should get to the second round and maybe even the last eight. Playmaker Barnetta and young goalscorer Eren Derdiyok are the men to watch.

Strange but true
Although Alexander Frei denied a charge of spitting at Steven Gerrard during the Euro 2004 tournament, he later showed some novel contrition by adopting a Liama at Basel Zoo as a public penance. “I became the godfather of this animal to remind players that they do not have to spit in the future, ” Frei explained.