Midfielder Granit Xhaka has refused to make a prediction about how far Switzerland can go at the World Cup, which is being held in the USA, Mexico and Canada this year.
Xhaka has said they will take the matches one by one.
Switzerland was eliminated in the round of 16 of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Portugal advanced to the quarterfinals after a comprehensive 6:1 victory.
Xhaka says that defeat has been forgotten.
"The round of 16 match against Portugal has long been forgotten. We are looking ahead and we have a great team. We had a very good qualifying campaign and we want to play well at the World Cup. If we reach the quarter-finals or beyond – we will take the games one by one," Xhaka said on Thursday at a press conference ahead of the friendly match against Germany.
Switzerland plays a friendly against Germany on Friday in Basel at 20:45 PM.
BBC with a long article about Xhaka, who was insulted at Arsenal but revived his career
Switzerland plays its next friendly against Norway in Oslo on March 31. It plays Jordan in May. It also plans its final friendly before the World Cup Group B matches in June.
Switzerland will play their first match at this year's World Cup against Qatar. They are also in the group with Canada. They will be joined in the play-offs by Italy, Wales, Bosnia-Herzegovina or Northern Ireland.
"We want to play the best World Cup of all time. We have a good team and we showed what we can do in the qualifiers," said Switzerland coach Murat Yakin.
Switzerland won the qualifying group for the World Cup. Kosovo finished in second place. After Switzerland and Kosovo, Slovenia and Sweden finished.
Xhaka said that representing Switzerland is a privilege.
"It's a privilege to return to Switzerland now and give everything for the national team," Xhaka said.
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He has recently returned from injury. There have been reports that Xhaka is not in the best possible form.
"I always want to be on the field. Unfortunately, I had a slight injury to my Achilles tendon. But I feel incredibly good again and I'm happy to be back on the field and here. I believe that when you play for your country, you shouldn't see the match against Germany as a friendly. Every point and every good result we achieve gives us confidence," said Xhaka.
Switzerland and Germany have faced each other frequently in recent years. The Swiss are unbeaten in their last four matches against the Germans.
"We have played against each other four times recently and we have not lost in any of these matches. Of course we are not favourites, but we are looking forward to the game and we will see how things go tomorrow," said Xhaka.
He is happy to be playing against Germany in Basel, his hometown.
The Sunderland captain also spoke about Albanian midfielder Ardon Jashari.
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He said that Jashari is a special player.
"Ardoni is a very special player who has shown, especially in America last summer, that he can play for this team. His transfer to Milan will allow him to gain a lot of experience," said Xhaka.
