March 20, 2007

What do the Swiss have in store for Jamaica?

On Thursday March 22 at 6:15pm (Jamaica time), Jamaica will play against Switzerland in their first ever encounter whether friendly or competitive. Currently ranked 14^th in the World, Switzerland has a long footballing history.

After winning silver at the 1924 Olympics in Paris, Switzerland’s best football performances include reaching the quarter-finals in the FIFA World Cup in 1934, 1938 and when the country hosted the event in 1954.

In 2006, Switzerland set a FIFA World Cup record by being eliminated from the competition despite not conceding a goal in any of their four matches. In addition, Switzerland set a World Cup record by failing to score a single goal in a penalty shootout.

Switzerland has had only three (3) international encounters since October, all of them losses. Their recent record of performance includes losses to Austria, Brazil and Germany. The Austrians and Brazilians defeated the Swiss 2-1 on October 11 and November 15 respectively in 2006. Switzerland then suffered a 3-1 defeat to Germany, 2006 FIFA World Cups hosts and 3^rd place finishers on February 7, 2007.