Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Switzerland would like to be known for more than the Alps
As I mentioned yesterday with Spain, Group H is wide open after pencilling the Spanish into first place. Switzerland, Honduras and Chile play different styles but they seem to be generally on the same level in terms of talent.
The Swiss had no use for a 30-man roster and they went ahead and named their 23-man roster for the 2010 World Cup.
Arsenal centre-back Philippe Senderos has been included in Ottmar Hitzfeld's 23-man World Cup squad despite an indifferent season at club level.
The 25-year-old has played only a handful of games over the past two terms while out on loan at AC Milan and Everton, but remains in favour with Hitzfeld.
There is no place, however, for fellow Gunners defender Johan Djourou, who returned to action last weekend after being sidelined for more than eight months with a knee injury.
Hitzfeld had to name his provisional 30-man squad by midnight on Tuesday and cut it to a final 23 by June 1, but opted to reveal his final selection ahead of time.
He has largely kept faith with the players who assured qualification, with the surprise addition of 18-year-old Kosovo-born winger Xherdan Shaqiri of Basle.
"For me, it counted as to who had a part in us qualifying for South Africa," Hitzfeld said on how he had finalised his line-up. "Added to this was the right mix between young and old. It is not always the best players that make the best team."
Goalkeepers: Diego Benaglio (Wolfsburg), Johnny Leoni (Zurich), Marco Wolfli (Young Boys).
Defenders: Mario Eggimann (Hannover), Stephane Grichting (Auxerre), Stephan Lichtsteiner (Lazio), Philippe Senderos (Arsenal), Christoph Spycher (Eintracht Frankfurt), Steve Von Bergen (Hertha Berlin), Reto Ziegler (Sampdoria).
Midfielders: Tranquillo Barnetta (Bayer Leverkusen), Valon Behrami (West Ham), Gelson Fernandes (St Etienne), Benjamin Huggel (Basle), Gokhan Inler (Udinese), Marco Padalino (Sampdoria), Pirmin Schwegler (Eintracht Frankfurt), Xherdan Shaqiri (Basle).
Forwards: Eren Derdiyok (Bayer Leverkusen), Alexander Frei (Basle), Blaise Nkufo (FC Twente), Marco Streller (Basle), Hakan Yakin (Lucerne).
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