Swiss calm before the storm

Training begins
The Swiss team, who meet Group B rivals Croatia at 18.00CET on Sunday, arrived on Monday and were given this morning off having only played Liechtenstein 48 hours earlier. Their first training session was early this evening on the pitch at the five-star Praia Del Rey hotel in Obidos.

Quiet resort
Coach Jakob Kuhn is pleased with the choice of resort, well away from the more popular bases in Lisbon and Porto. "Here we can really concentrate on the football," said Kuhn, whose side won 1-0 against Liechtenstein.

New arrivals
It helps his mood that all his squad were in training other than midfield player Johann Vogel, who received treatment on a thigh injury which is unlikely to threaten his participation on Sunday. Media attention, though, focuses on Johan Vonlanthen and Tranquillo Barnetta, who have joined the senior squad straight from the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Germany.

Busy day
Things will get tougher for the squad tomorrow, when there will be training in the morning and again in the afternoon. "We want to do a lot on Wednesday", said Kuhn, who revealed that he will tell his players his lineup against Croatia "on Saturday or Sunday". Few surprises are expected.

Good luck charm
Kuhn's side certainly have the support of their nation behind them. On Monday at Zurich-Kloten airport the team were handed a giant T-shirt containing more than 20,000 signatures from Swiss fans wishing the team luck.