Murat Yakin has not said whether Ricardo Rodriguez will start Switzerland’s opener against Qatar, leaving one of the team’s most familiar names in doubt on the eve of the match. The coach has been testing different shapes, and the choice may come down to whether he keeps Rodriguez in the side or goes with Denis Zakaria in the back three.
That uncertainty matters because Rodriguez, 33, is not just another option. He has made 138 international appearances, and a start against Qatar would be his 13th World Cup appearance, tying him with Granit Xhaka as Switzerland’s record-holder. For a player who first made his mark 15 years ago in Wales, when Reto Ziegler was sent off and Rodriguez stepped in, the question now is not whether he belongs in the national team but whether Yakin uses him from the opening whistle.
Yakin’s recent tests suggest the decision is still live. Switzerland beat Jordan 4-1 with Zakaria in the back three, a look that showed the coach is willing to change the shape rather than simply pick the best-known names. He has said he has a team that can play different systems, that the players know how they play, and that the experienced players in defense and midfield quickly know what to do.
That flexibility is the reason Rodriguez’s case is so interesting. Switzerland can line up with a back three or a back four, and Rodriguez would be the starting left-back in the latter. He can also play in a back three, but Yakin’s experiments have opened the door for other options, including Johan Manzambi. One possible version of the lineup would replace Silvan Widmer with Manzambi, while another would leave one of Michel Aebischer or Fabian Rieder on the bench.
Granit Xhaka added to the sense that nothing has been locked in, saying he did not know whether Rodriguez was on the bubble and suggesting Yakin sometimes likes to provoke a player or two to get more out of them. That kind of uncertainty is not new around this group, but it makes the final defensive call harder to read before a tournament opener.
Still, a surprise like the one Yakin used in the 2024 Euro opener against Hungary, when he started Kwadwo Duah and got an early goal, is not expected at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium today. The more likely story is a straightforward one: Yakin will decide whether to trust a veteran left side he has relied on for years, or keep reshaping the back line and leave Rodriguez waiting for his chance to join another piece of Swiss history.
