Swiss hit home straight after patchy preparation

Reuters, Thursday May 22 2008
By Mark Ledsom
BERNE, Switzerland, May 22 (Reuters) - As Euro 2008 co-hosts, Switzerland will surely be hoping that home advantage can help paper over some of the cracks that have emerged during their rather patchy run-up to the June event.
The Swiss had appeared to be on a roll after qualifying for both Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup, exiting the latter tournament in a second-round penalty shootout against Ukraine without conceding a regular goal in any of their matches.
Automatic qualification as Euro 2008 co-hosts has since seen Koebi Kuhn's men restricted to a two-year diet of friendly matches, however, and the fare has not often been savoury.


Switzerland have lost nine of their 17 games since the World Cup, including their last four in a row against the USA, Nigeria, England and Germany.
Their seven wins included an impressive 2-1 triumph over the Netherlands last August but their other conquests comprised less considerable scalps such as Liechtenstein, Costa Rica and fellow Euro 2008 hosts Austria.
Apart from the actual results, there has been concern over the abject nature of some of their performances, particularly in their February 2007 3-1 trouncing by Germany and an even worse 4-0 home defeat by the same opponents in March of this year.
"There is nothing I can say to make that performance seem better," was Kuhn's stark post-match assessment in Basel.
"We just have to put it behind us and look to the next game. It's an old football saying perhaps but I can't come up with anything better than that at the moment."
FITNESS QUESTIONS
While motivation levels are usually low for non-competitive games, a bigger concern for Switzerland is the number of first-team regulars who have suffered from injuries or a lack of regular action at club level.
Top scorer and captain Alex Frei is thankfully back scoring again for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund after missing a year of international duty with calf and thigh operations in 2007.
Playmaker Xavier Margairaz has been ruled out however after tearing a cruciate ligament in February while experienced central defender Patrick Mueller is facing major fitness doubts after sustaining the same injury in December.
A groin injury saw right-sided midfielder David Degen dropped from Kuhn's provisional 26-man squad and twin brother right back Philipp Degen is a doubt as he fights to recover from a torn leg joint.
Aside from the lengthy injury list, there are serious match fitness questions over Arsenal defender Johan Djourou, Bolton Wanderers defensive midfielder Blerim Dzemaili and Salzburg midfielder Johan Vonlanthen, all of whom have struggled for selection at their clubs.
Home advantage can of course not be underestimated and Belgium are still the only host nation to fail to get beyond the group stage of a European championship.
Various newspaper surveys have suggested that the general Swiss public is far from overwhelming in its support for the tournament, but Switzerland's surprisingly vociferous turn-out at the World Cup suggests that there will be no lack of noise in the stadiums themselves.
Perhaps the biggest factor in Switzerland's favour though is the luck of the draw which has presented them with tough but not impossible prospects against the Czech Republic, Turkey and Portugal.
Many Swiss seem to be hoping for a good start against the Czechs and a meeting with Portugal after the 2004 finalists have already made sure of their place in the quarter-finals.
Progression to the last eight would be satisfactory enough for most local fans who have already noted that bogey team Germany are the likeliest opponents should Switzerland really get that far.
(Editing by Miles Evans)