How did Switzerland qualify for the 2010 World Cup

How did Switzerland qualify for the 2010 World Cup

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In recent years, Switzerland have become a familiar face in the early rounds of major competitions. Their appearance in the 1994 World Cup was their first since England had won the tournament back in 1966. However, although the team mi sed out on the next two World Cups, they havebeen present in three of the four European Championships since and reached the knock out stages ofGermany 2006.With former legendaryBayern Munich manager Ottmar Hitzfeld at the helm, expectationswere high forqualifying for South Africa 2010. The group drawforqualifying raised the optimism asthe Swi s were placed with no footballing giants. The six team group certainly looked the most open withGreece, Latvia and Israel all realistically looking at being in the top two. Luxembourg and Moldova were there to most probably make up the numbers.However, the Swi s suffered a slightly disappointing opening to their campaign away to Israel. The teams 2-0 lead was pegged back with a goal from Yo si Benayoun in the 73rd minute and a Ben Sahar 92nd minute equaliser. The result fuelled DeMarcus Ware Jersey the notion that the group was going to be incredibly tight and unpredictable.Unpredictable was certainly the word for the next match as Switzerland hosted Luxembourg. A shock early goal for the visitors was pegged back by the Swi s. However, with the game nearing a close, an 87th minute winner from Luxembourg gave them one of their biggest victories ever leaving the group wide open.A home defeat to Luxembourg heaped the pre sure on Hitzfeld to turn it around. They began the revival in the next match with a fairly unconvincing 2-1 victory against Latvia. Next up was a key game away to group leaders Greece. A defeat would have put Switzerland eight points behind and leaving them with 2nd place as the only realistic ambition left. Neverthele s, a good performance from Hitzfelds side saw them beat the Euro 2004 Champions 2-1 in their own back yard to leave the group wide open again.A 2-0 win away to Moldova was met with more jubilation after it was heard that Greece had been held 1-1 away in Israel. The reverse fixture saw the Swi s secure another comfortable 2-0 win Tyler Smith Jersey although this time Greece managed to beat Israel at home. This left Switzerland and Greece joint top of the group with 13 points a piece. Latvia and Israel were also only a couple of point behind meaning that the next set of fixtures, which saw the Swi s host Greece and Israel take on Latvia, were crucial.Two goals in the final six minutes secured an important 2-0 home victory for Switzerland over Greece whilst Latvia kept their hopes alive with an away win against Israel. The next match saw the team travel to Latvia for a tricky away game. A first half goal for Alexander Frei looked to have the Swi s on their way to a crucial win. However, two second half goals put Latvia in pole position before an 80th minute equaliser rescued a point. Neverthele s, the news that Moldova had secured a 90th minute equaliser against Greece kept the crucial three point margain between the teams and signalled a real mi sed opportunity for the Greeks.A 3-0 away win away to Luxembourg ensured no repeat of an upset against the group minnows. With one match remaining, Switzerland just needed a point at home to Israel to guarantee CeeDee Lamb Jersey qualification. With Greece unimpre sively beating Luxembourg 2-1 at home, a tense match was played out in Basel that saw Switzerland gain the much needed point with a 0-0 draw. The result meant that Switzerland had booked their place in South Africa although they will need to perform better if they are to make an impact in the competition.
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