France

France hosted the tournament in 1938, and the world cup was won by reigning champions Italy. After drawing the first game, the Switzerland national football team defeated a Nazi-run Germany 4-2 in the replay. It was another quarter-final exit for the side however, as they lost 2-0 to Hungary in the next game.

Brazil 

The Second World War prevented the world cup from being played again until 1950. Hosted by Brazil, the home-nation lost in the final to champions Uruguay. The switch to a group format did not help the Switzerland national football team. A 3-0 loss to Yugoslavia, was followed by a 2-2 draw with Brazil and a 2-1 win over Mexico. This wasn’t enough as the side finished third and were eliminated.

Switzerland 

Switzerland themselves hosted the world cup in 1954, and the tournament was won by West Germany for the first time. A win over Italy and a loss to England put the Switzerland national football team into a play-off to decide who progressed. It was the hosts who achieved this with a 4-1 win, again over Italy. In the quarter-final the side were involved in one of the highest scoring matches in world cup history. 12 goals were scored, with opponents Austria eventually progressing with a 7-5 win.

Chile

After missing out for the first time in 1958, the Switzerland national football team returned to the world cup in Chile. The tournament was won by Brazil who beat Czechoslovakia in the final. The tournament was a failure for Switzerland as they lost all three group games against Chile, West Germany and Italy, and finished bottom of the group after conceding 8 goals.

England

The world cup in 1966 was hosted and won by England. They beat West Germany in the final for their first tournament victory. Things did not improve for the Switzerland national football team from 1962. Arguably they actually got worse. A 5-0 loss to West Germany was followed by another two defeats to once again leave the side bottom of their group.

United States

It was another 28 years before the Switzerland national football team had a chance to improve on their last two appearances. In 1994 the world cup was held in the United States and was won by Brazil. Switzerland did improve, with a draw and a loss sandwiching a 4-1 win over Romania. This put the side through in second place. In the last 16 the team came up against a talented Spain side and lost 3-0 to end their world cup campaign.

Germany

The world cup in 2006 was held in Germany and won for a fourth time by Italy. The Switzerland national football team put in a strong group performance as two wins and a draw with France qualified them ahead of their neighbours. Here in the last 16 came the infamous 0-0 with Ukraine, and the exit on penalties 3-0.

South Africa

In 2010 the world cup visited Africa for the first time. South Africa were the hosts and Spain lifted the trophy for the first time. The Switzerland national football team were the only side to beat the eventual winners in their first game. A 1-0 win was followed up with a loss to Chile and a draw with Honduras. The side missed out on progression in third place.

Brazil

The world cup in 2014 returned to Brazil for the first time since 1950. The tournament was eventually won for a fourth time by Germany who became the first European team to win the world cup in South America. The Switzerland national football team performed well in the group stage this time around. Wins against Ecuador and this time Honduras sandwiched a 5-2 loss to France. This was enough to see them through to the last 16 in second place. Here the side met eventual runners-up Argentina, but were only beaten by a 118th minute goal.

Russia

The Switzerland national football team have been drawn in Group B alongside Portugal, Hungary, Faroe Islands, Latvia, and Andorra.