Hitzfeld’s team were thrown into chaos in April when two of their most experienced players, captain Alexander Frei and striker Marco Streller, retired after being subjected to criticism from both supporters and the media.
The pair scored 54 international goals between them, but there are a number of promising youngsters from the country’s Under-17 World Cup-winning side of 2009 now graduating to the senior side. These include attacking midfielder Granit Xhaka, who is expected to make his international debut today.
Granit Xhaka can play and so can (19-year-old) Xherdan Shaqiri. The future belongs to these players
Hitzfeld, said: “We have lost two key players but everyone is pulling in the right direction and we want to play in a liberated way.
“Granit Xhaka can play and so can (19-year-old) Xherdan Shaqiri. The future belongs to these players.
“We have nothing to lose while England can lose a lot. The pressure is always on the favourite. I wonder how they will cope with it.”