Those atypical Alpine names provide a clue to the second reason for Switzerland’s phenomenal improvement: immigration. The Balkan wars of the 1990s provoked a large influx of Yugoslavs into Switzerland. Their arrival coincided with the revamping of the national coaching scheme and their children bolstered the raw material available to it. As a glance down the Swiss squad list shows, these kids are now coming of age and making an impact, notably the former FC Basel, now Bundesliga-based, pair of Xherdan Shaqiri and Xhaka, both of whom were born in the same Kosovan town of Gnijlane before being brought to Switzerland as toddlers.