Switzerland's European Championships Record
Switzerland are the co-hosts of Euro 2008 along with Austria. They have a very brief history in European Championships. It was in Euro 1996 that the Swiss made their first appearance in a European Championship. They have never won a major trophy, and the closest they were to winning one was the quarter-finals of the World Cups of 1934, 1938 and 1954.
In Euro 1996, hosted by England, the Swiss were drawn in the same group as the hosts, Netherlands and Scotland. They only managed a single point from the match against England, which ended 1-1. It was a very short and disappointing performance in this Championship for the debutants.
Switzerland did not qualify for Euro 2000, but appeared again in Portugal Euro 2004. Here, they were drawn with England (again), France and Croatia. This time, the Swiss lost 3-0 to the English team, lost 3-1 against France, but earned a 1-1 draw against Croatia. For the second time in a row, Switzerland was eliminated at the group stage, managing just one point from three games.
The Swiss bid to host the European Championships of 2008 along with Austria was accepted, so Switzerland qualified automatically for this competition, and will be making their third appearance in this European tournament. They were drawn in Group A alongside Czech Republic, Portugal and Turkey. Considering that unfortunately they won't be facing England in the group stage this time, they are expected to please the home fans and progress through the group stage.
Led by Kobi Kuhn until the end of the Championship, and captained by Borussia Dortmund striker Alexandre Frei, this team has the backing of the supporters that will expect the team to play well on home soil. Realistically, however, it is very unlikely that they have the abilities to match the powers of Portugal or Czech Republic, and they will have to work extremely hard to defeat these teams. Still, nothing is impossible and maybe this time, on their third try, Switzerland will manage to get more than a single point in the group phase.
