The minimum aim for Switzerland in Russia is the round of 16, where eventual finalists Argentina eliminated Fernandes and Co four years ago. First up they face much-fancied Brazil, before meeting tough but beatable opposition in Serbia and Costa Rica.
Squeaky bum time in the play-offs
Qualification was largely plain sailing for Vladimir Petkovic's side, who finished second to Portugal in European Qualifying Group B after a 2-0 defeat in Lisbon in the final round of fixtures. Switzerland had won all nine games prior to that, recording a memorable 2-0 triumph against the European champions in Basel in September 2016 and comfortably beating Hungary, Latvia, Andorra and the Faroe Islands home and away.
The eventual second-place finish meant the Swiss entered a two-legged play-off against Northern Ireland. After a nervy 1-0 first-leg win in Belfast – secured courtesy of a controversial penalty from former Wolfsburg full-back Ricardo Rodriguez – the Nati held on for a 0-0 draw on home turf to rubberstamp their ticket to Russia.
Switzerland's Group H fixtures: Brazil (Sunday 17 June, Rostov), Serbia (Friday 22 June, Kaliningrad), Costa Rica (Wednesday 27 June, Nizhny Novgorod)
Best World Cup finish: Quarter-finalists in a 16-team tournament on home turf in 1954 (following last-eight finishes in 1934 and 1938), Switzerland have since failed to progress beyond the round of 16 (1994, 2006, 2014).
World Cup 2014: Group-stage wins against Ecuador (2-1) and Honduras (3-0) either side of a 5-2 defeat to France secured a last-16 place. In a tense game against Argentina, Angel Di Maria's extra-time goal ended Swiss hopes.
World Cup 2018 expectations: Switzerland will be fancied against both Serbia and Costa Rica. If Petkovic's troops do manage to finish second in Group E behind favourites Brazil, then they would face the winners of Group F – expected to be Germany – in the round of 16.
Key players: Sixth in the FIFA World Rankings, Switzerland's most valuable player, according to Transfermarkt, is Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka (estimated value: €35 million). Borussia Mönchengladbach's Denis Zakaria is next up (€20 million), with Schalke's Breel Embolo (€18 million) and Stoke'sXherdan Shaqiri (€18 million) also ones to watch. In total, there are 10 Bundesliga players in the Swiss squad.
