Switzerland are raring to get their campaign underway against Qatar and are shaping up to deliver their best World Cup so far, but the players must make sure they enjoy the moment, captain Granit Xhaka said yesterday.
Playing in his fourth World Cup, Xhaka said the Swiss were confident and “yearning for it like never before”, and will go all out for victory against the back-to-back Asian champions in Santa Clara on Saturday.
“In football we always talk about tactical things, but you also have to enjoy the moment and I think this is one of the most important things in football, that you go on the pitch, that you feel free,” Xhaka told a press conference.
“We just want to bring our ‘A’ game tomorrow. We will want to perform for Switzerland, for our families. Tomorrow we will take the first big step. This is going to be the best World Cup.
“We are now impatient. We are primed and ready. We are physically ready, we are mentally ready.”
Switzerland are playing in their sixth successive World Cup, a feat matched matched only in Europe by France, Spain, England, Portugal and Germany.
But unlike those sides, the Swiss have little to show for it, with round-of-16 exits in five of their past six appearances, with their last quarter-final back in 1954.
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