Switzerland

Switzerland will be back at the biggest stage of world football after missing the last two FIFA World Cup finals at France 1998 and Korea/Japan 2002.

Coached by Kobi Kuhn, Switzerland had to undergo through the play-offs to qualify for Germany 2006.

They had a tough time in the play-off against Turkey and were beaten 4-2 in Istanbul but managed to book their ticket to Germany thanks to the 2-0 victory in Bern four days earlier.

At their last appearence in the FIFA World Cup finals at USA 1994, Switzerland made it to the round of sixteen.

Scheduled to host the 2008 UEFA European Championship jointly with Austria, the Swiss team will be hoping to put up a good show, and some observers believe they have the potential to emerge as the surprise package of the tournament.

Switzerland has had a good run in the recent past and they even managed to remain unbeaten for one full year that included 14 games.

The youth of Tranquillo Barnetta and Philippe Senderos combined with the experience of skipper Johann Vogel and keeper Pascal Zuberbuhler makes Switzerland the team that every opponent will be wary of.

Other players to watch out for are Raphael Wicky, Senderos, Barnetta and Alexander Frei.