Hochstrasser reveals ingredients for Swiss roll

The image of Swiss football is undergoing something of a makeover. Two years after the country's unprecedented FIFA U-17 World Cup win in Nigeria, Switzerland's bright young things are back catching the eye on the international stage at this UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

Pierluigi Tami's team are a fusion of that side and a slightly older generation – four of whom played for the senior squad in their recent UEFA EURO 2012 draw with England at Wembley, namely Xherdan Shaqiri, Granit Xhaka, Innocent Emeghara and Admir Mehmedi.

Here midfielder Xavier Hochstrasser, who made his second appearance of the finals in the semi-final triumph against the Czech Republic, talks UEFA.com through the team that takes on Spain for the title in Aarhus on Saturday.

Defence
We knew Yann Sommer was a good player and you've seen that in the tournament – he's a great goalkeeper and our captain. He hasn't conceded a goal and I hope he manages to keep that going. I played pretty much the whole qualifying campaign with Jonathan Rossini. He's a solid defender. Timm Klose is playing this tournament the way he always plays. He's key for us. The full-backs [Philippe Koch and Gaetano Berardi] have to be solid, adapt to whoever's playing central defence, and also help in attack. When you look at a team like FC Barcelona, the full-backs often attack. OK, we're not Barcelona but, from time to time, they really help us out in attack. We have a lot of good defenders – on the bench too.

Midfield
The central midfielders [Fabian Lustenberger and Xhaka] are the ones who have to dictate play. It's the area where you win and lose matches. It's important to get the ball out to the flanks or up front. Defensively, there always has to be someone there. We have some freedom but all the positions have to be covered. The wide players [Emeghara, Fabian Frei and Shaqiri] have to be disciplined too, because in international football all 11 players have to work. Having said that, you cannot ask every player to work 100% defensively all game. We have players that are very good in wide positions. We have a little phenomenon [Shaqiri] but it's important he works too, because we work for him.

Attack
Our front player [Mehmedi, Mario Gavranović or Nassim Ben Khalifa] always has to be moving because he's often alone. It is up to the wide players and the central midfielders to get up in support of him. He has to be able to keep possession and help us defensively too. When your striker keeps the ball, it's easier for the team as you can defend higher up the pitch.