World Cup ’94 : WORLD CUP USA ’94 / GROUP A PREVIEW : Switzerland at a Glance

* COACH: Roy Hodgson

* KEY PLAYERS: Stephane Chapuisat, Adrian Knup, Georges Bregy.

* STRENGTHS: A mixture of youth and experience, a sound tactical game plan and a determination to do well after almost 30 years without a World Cup appearance could carry Switzerland far. Chapuisat is regarded as one of the top strikers in Europe and Knup is no goal-scoring slouch. Bregy is the playmaker.

* WEAKNESSES: The defenders are a little long in the tooth and play in the Swiss League, hardly the strongest in Europe. That lack of experience against first-class opposition will hurt later in the tournament.

* WORLD CUP HISTORY: Six previous appearances. Record of 5-11-2. Best finish was as quarterfinalist in 1954.

* LITTLE-KNOWN FACT: When Switzerland played Austria in the 1954 World Cup, the match produced a World Cup-record 12 goals. The Austrians won, 7-5.

* OUTLOOK: The Switzerland-Romania game likely will decide which team finishes second in the first-round group behind Colombia. The Romanians are dangerous, but the Swiss appear more focused. Reaching the last eight is a possibility, but going beyond that would be an unrealistic goal.

* PREDICTED FIRST-ROUND FINISH: Second.

ROSTER

No. Name Position 1 Marco Pascolo Goalkeeper 12 Stefan Lehmann Goalkeeper 22 Martin Brunner Goalkeeper 2 Marc Hottiger Defender 3 Yvan Quentin Defender 4 Dominique Herr Defender 5 Alain Geiger Defender 13 Andy Egli Defender 18 Martin Rueda Defender 19 Juerg Studer Defender 6 Georges Bregy Midfielder 7 Alain Sutter Midfielder 8 Christophe Ohrel Midfielder 10 Ciriaco Sforza Midfielder 16 Thomas Bickel Midfielder 17 Sebastian Fournier Midfielder 20 Patrick Sylvestre Midfielder 21 Thomas Wyss Midfielder 9 Adrian Knup Forward 11 Stephane Chapuisat Forward 14 Nestor Subiat Forward 15 Marco Grassi Forward