Switzerland are set for a sixth consecutive FIFA World Cup campaign
Ruben Vargas reveals what fuelled his World Cup dream
Sevilla winger discusses national team’s new generation, unity and ambition
are readying themselves for a sixth successive campaign, one in which they will have to contend with the absence of Nati legends Xherdan Shaqiri and Yann Sommer. Despite being without the iconic pair, the European nation’s ambitions remain intact, and a new generation of leaders are raring to step up to the plate. Among them is 27-year-old Sevilla wing wizard Ruben Vargas.
“There’s no greater stage than the World Cup,” he told FIFA. “There are no words to describe it. As a kid, I watched the tournament on TV, and now my friends send me photos of me playing in the competition.”
The first edition that Vargas has vivid memories of is the 2006 instalment in Germany, with the final between France and Italy etched firmly in his mind. However, before taking up football, he tried his hand at baseball – the national sport in the Dominican Republic, his father’s homeland.
Football soon took centre stage, though. Vargas fell head over heels with the beautiful game in the school playground, where he would kick a ball around with friends, and before long, he had swapped hitting home runs for net-busting strikes.
His dad, Victor, was given the nickname 'Filete' [meat fillet] on account of his skinny build. “I too was always on the smaller side; it wasn’t easy when I was growing up because the other players were bigger and stronger than me, and I didn’t get to play much,” Vargas revealed.
In his youth, he idolised Cristiano Ronaldo and, in particular, Neymar, captivated by the joy they exude on the pitch. Like so many Swiss youngsters of his generation, Shaqiri was another childhood hero.
Vargas’s love affair with the game continued into his teenage years, and there came a point when he had to balance honing his craft at Luzern’s academy with a job. He spent three formative years working as a painter and decorator between the ages of 16 and 18, an experience that gave him an early taste of life outside football.
“It was one of the most significant periods of my life,” he said. “It gave me huge motivation to put my all into making it as a footballer.” The long days left a real impression on the budding player. “I’ve experienced both sides of things: having a normal job and playing football,” he reflected. “When I think about it, I’m very happy to be a footballer.”
Vargas admitted that had he not made the grade in the professional ranks of the game, he would have loved to be a painter. “I particularly enjoyed it in the summer because so much of the work was outdoors,” added Vargas, who made the cut in Murat Yakin’s 26-strong squad for the upcoming North American showpiece. “But it was tough going, and after finishing up for the day, I had to go to training. I’d get home after the session, grab a bit of dinner and head straight to bed because I was exhausted. Then the next day, I’d do it all over again.”
The silky speedster has plundered 11 goals in 60 appearances for the Nati since making his debut in 2019, aged 21. He checked in at Sevilla last January after calling time on a five-and-a-half-year spell with Bundesliga side Augsburg, and he weighed in with three goals and six assists in his 24 La Liga outings.
Vargas got his first taste of World Cup action at . “We put in some strong performances, but we bowed out after defeat to Portugal in the Round of 16 - they’re a very strong side,” he said. In 2024, he delivered one of his finest performances in a Swiss shirt in the UEFA EURO last-16 showdown victory over Italy.
“I got an assist and scored a spectacular goal. It’s a match I’ll never forget,” he recalled. Switzerland’s run at the continental showpiece was brought to an end by eventual runners-up England at the quarter-final stage, with the Three Lions prevailing over Yakin’s troops on penalties.
At the 2020 edition of the European event – which was contested in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic – the Swiss experienced both shoot-out agony and ecstasy: beating France in the last 16 before succumbing to Spain in the final eight. Vargas missed Switzerland’s decisive spot kick against La Roja, leaving him in floods of tears.
The Nati and Vargas now have their sights set on making their mark at this year’s World Cup, in which they have been drawn in Group B alongside Qatar, Bosnia and Herzegovina and co-hosts Canada. He explained: “Everyone’s saying we’re the favourites in our group. That may be true on paper, but we’re aware that all of the other teams are strong sides with some top players. We’ll have to give every last ounce and just take things one game at a time.”
Vargas admitted that the team will be looking to go at least one better than they have managed in recent editions, with their campaigns at the 2006, 2014, 2018 and 2022 instalments having ended at the Round of 16. Despite the fact that there is almost an expectancy that the Swiss should grace the latter stages, he is quick to stress that the side are relative minnows in the global arena. The fleet-footed winger touched on the absences of playmaker Shaqiri and shot-stopper Sommer – two of the leading lights in the national team’s recent history – following their retirement from the international game.
“The pair of them have done so much for our country. They’re legends,” Vargas acknowledged. “Time doesn’t stand still for anyone, but we have some young players who are competing at the highest level, and we’re happy with our squad. We need to go out there and play as a unit and think as a group. Unity is our greatest strength.”
Sources: FIFA Official
