On par with Heinz Hermann – 118 games for Switzerland: Xhaka becomes the national team record player – Sport

Granit Xhaka played his 118th competitive game for Switzerland against Belarus. In doing so, he drew level with Heinz Hermann.

For almost 32 years, Heinz Hermann was the only man to reach the mark of 118 competitive games in the Swiss national team jersey. On October 15, 2023 – 11,660 days after Hermann’s last international match – the time had come: Granit -Nati.

Xhaka reached this milestone as an indispensable leader in coach Murat Yakin’s team. Since Stephan Lichtsteiner’s resignation at the end of 2019, Xhaka has led the national team onto the field as captain; against Belarus, the 31-year-old wore the armband for the 45th time.

The “100 Club” of the Swiss national team

*still active, including game against Belarus

The general public became familiar with Xhaka for the first time in 2009, when he sensationally won the World Cup title with the Swiss U17 team in Nigeria alongside Ricardo Rodriguez and Haris Seferovic, among others. In the years that followed, Xhaka developed into a senior national player at FC Basel and made his international debut with the “big boys” on June 4, 2011 in the European Championship qualifiers – of all places against England at the legendary Wembley (2-2).

5 participations in major finals

Unlike Hermann, the only national team record player to date, who played for Switzerland between 1978 and 1991, Xhaka also made it to a finals with the national team. And this in 5 cases. The Basel player celebrated his finals debut in 2014 at the World Cup in Brazil under coach Ottmar Hitzfeld.

This was followed by the 2016 European Championships and the 2018 World Cup under Vladimir Petkovic as well as the 2020 European Championships (not held until 2021 due to Covid) and the 2022 World Cup under Murat Yakin. No matter what the coach’s name was, Xhaka was always selected for his previous 5 finals appearances and didn’t miss a game – with one exception: In Switzerland’s only quarter-final so far, at the European Championships 2020 against Spain, Xhaka was not allowed to take part due to a yellow card suspension.

No end in sight

Xhaka’s 6th final round participation with the national team should normally not be long in coming. Switzerland is on track to qualify for the 2024 European Championship in Germany. However, Xhaka could reach the next milestone as early as November. If the captain also plays against Israel on November 15th, Xhaka would become the only Nati record player with his 119th competitive game.

But the 31-year-old is far from having enough. There is no end in sight to Xhaka’s national team career. On the contrary: the undisputed leader still wants to be there at the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the USA – and possibly even beyond. “I don’t think I want to end my national team career at the age of 34,” said Xhaka at the end of March this year.