More than ever, indispensable Granit Xhaka is Switzerland’s captain and leader

The numbers speak for themselves. With 63 line-breaking passes, Granit Xhaka shares the top spot among the tournament’s most prolific midfielders in this area, tied with Spain’s Rodri. This stat sums up, better than any words, what he brings to the Swiss game: the ability to break through a line of pressure with a single pass, to open up play for Ndoye, Vargas or Manzambi just when the opponent least expects it.

This technical prowess now comes with a record in Swiss football history. By surpassing 150 caps during the 2-0 win over Algeria in the round of 32, Xhaka became the most-capped player in Swiss national team history, overtaking the previous benchmark set by Shaqiri. He could widen the gap even further on Tuesday night, while also aiming, alongside Ricardo Rodriguez, to break the record number for World Cup matches played in a Swiss shirt.

From a contested status to Yakin’s right-hand man

It wasn’t always obvious that the midfielder would reach such heights. Since his debut with the Nati in June 2011, Xhaka has often divided fans and media with his direct, sometimes provocative style. More than fifteen years on, he remains a frequent target for criticism. 

After the frustrating draw against Qatar in the World Cup opener, the tabloid Blick spoke of a toxic atmosphere created by the captain within the squad. The midfielder admitted that such articles were also "a bit provoked by me". Still, he felt that people could simply "feel proud" of a player who has played so many "matches in this shirt, for this country".

As often with him, the answer came on the pitch. In the 4-1 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina, he celebrated his goal with a mocking gesture aimed at his critics. Then, against Algeria in the round of 32, he became the first Swiss player to reach 150 caps, cheered on by the entire stadium. For Xhaka, it’s a "privilege" to have so often represented the country "where I grew up, where I was born, which has given so much to me and my family."

Living with criticism remains, by his own admission, a challenge that never leaves him completely unaffected. Xhaka acknowledged that constantly facing criticism "isn’t always easy". "I’d be lying if I said it goes in one ear and out the other. It hurts, because there are things I don’t understand", he confided. He suggested that maybe he needs "a bit of that, those provocations, those outside opinions", before concluding by emphasising that the most important thing is "that the team is behind me, that the coach is behind me".

Murat Yakin no longer hides it. The coach has made Xhaka his most important confidant, someone with whom he can discuss everything, even uncomfortable topics, in a dialogue he always finds productive and constructive. After the frustrating draw against Australia in a World Cup warm-up, where Xhaka didn’t mince his words about his team’s commitment, the coach made a point of defending and describing his number 6.

"It wasn’t easy for Granit. He’s the captain and he takes responsibility; he was the conductor on the pitch, exactly as we know him. Of course, there was a wave of criticism after that draw, but that only makes it more beautiful and important that he then led the team to victory."

For Yakin, it’s a reminder that Xhaka’s role goes far beyond that of a simple holding midfielder: he’s the conductor, the one who absorbs pressure and turns it into results. Earlier in the tournament, the coach summed up what his captain represents with a telling phrase: "You’re never bored with Granit: he aims for perfection and wants to win every match." This total trust has shown on the pitch during the three unbeaten group matches, and then in the win over Algeria, where Xhaka praised his team’s collective maturity and the defensive solidity regained after three games in which they had conceded a goal each time.

A fourth World Cup approached with calm

Even before the tournament began, Xhaka gave an interview to FIFA in which he spoke, with his trademark clarity, about what this fourth consecutive World Cup means to him, after Brazil 2014, Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022. "I’ve had the luck and privilege to play alongside exceptional footballers", he said, adding, "I’ve represented a country that has achieved a lot on the international stage in recent years. Not everyone gets to qualify for every World Cup."

The midfielder also recalled his American memories from ten years ago, when he played his very first matches for Arsenal in San Francisco and Los Angeles - two cities the Nati has returned to during this World Cup. "I remember it very well. It was a very positive experience for me. The reputation of a city like Los Angeles speaks for itself. Here, people are open, honest, and very direct," he said, amused by this geographical full circle in his career.

Asked about his ambitions for this tournament, Xhaka made no secret of his mindset. Getting through the group stage remains, in his view, a "non-negotiable" goal for a team like Switzerland, but he refused to stop there. "I like to dream, and I dream big. I’m not going to tell you what I’m thinking right now, but we can dream, we have the right, and it feels good," he said, deliberately keeping the true extent of his ambitions a mystery.

This calculated reserve doesn’t stop anyone in Switzerland from knowing what that dream is. During a visit to the team’s base camp in Vancouver, the President of the Confederation, Guy Parmelin, himself mentioned the prospect of a World Cup final, scheduled for July 19 in New Jersey, joking that such an interruption to his vacation would be the best motivation. Xhaka, amused, didn’t need that invitation to look that far ahead: even before the tournament began, the captain had already stated, with his usual confidence, that he wanted to "become world champion".

As for a possible last dance in a Swiss shirt, Xhaka dismissed the idea with his usual frankness. "To be honest, I don’t think that will be the case. As long as I want to win, have the motivation and, above all, the health, I’ll stay on the pitch," he assured, before concluding: "We want to make our dream come true by achieving something huge."

A summer marked by a bold decision

Xhaka’s status as an undisputed leader also took on a very concrete dimension in the transfer market, just before the World Cup. Sought after by Chelsea, where Xabi Alonso wants to reunite with his former Bayer Leverkusen playmaker, with whom he won an unbeaten Bundesliga-German Cup double in 2024, Xhaka made the opposite choice to what was expected. Sunderland, seventh in the Premier League and qualified for the Europa League for the first time in fifty-three years, categorically rejected the London offers, considering them too low given the Swiss player’s role in this successful promoted season. For his part, the player chose to remain loyal to the Black Cats’ project rather than reunite with Alonso at Stamford Bridge, motivated by the club’s ambition and the prospect of leading them into Europe himself.

Throughout the transfer rumours, Xhaka remained silent on the subject, focused on the World Cup, before confirming his future at Sunderland once Switzerland had secured qualification for the round of 16.

One last South American hurdle

Against Colombia, unbeaten since the start of the tournament and led by Luis Díiz, Xhaka is expected to once again line up alongside Remo Freuler to lock down the midfield, as in previous matches. Speaking for RTS, former Swiss international Raoul Savoy summed up the tactical challenge of the match bluntly: to beat the Nati, "you have to cut off Granit Xhaka’s influence and close down the flanks, preventing Vargas, Ndoye, or even Manzambi from getting in behind and picking up speed."

Asked after the win over Algeria whether he had a preference between facing Ghana or Colombia, Xhaka brushed off the question in his own way: "Football isn’t a jukebox where you can choose! If we want to go far in this World Cup, we have to be able to beat any opponent." A way of reminding everyone that Switzerland, now, fears no one - not even an impressive Colombia side who will have to deal with a Swiss captain in top form.

Still, Xhaka prefers to talk about the present rather than statistics or symbols. "I’m not someone who cares much about statistics. We take it one match at a time", he said after the win over Algeria, before mentioning the word that, in his view, best summed up his team’s performance that night: "maturity." It’s that maturity they’ll need again on Tuesday night in Vancouver, with the dream of a world title still in sight.

Follow Switzerland vs Colombia tonight with Flashscore.