Switzerland v Germany: Line-ups, stats and preview

While Germany had to recover from a slow start to their qualification campaign, losing their opener to Slovakia, Switzerland cruised through qualifying without losing a game.

Though Friday’s contest is not a competitive fixture, Nagelsmann does not view it as an opportunity to make major changes in the final international break before he names his squad.

“We have faith in the players – that’s the most important thing,” Nagelsmann said. “We’ve spoken a lot about how we want to approach the international matches in March. We’ve got a large pool of regular players in there who should continue to become more cohesive and get used to playing with one another.

“We also want to see a couple of players who we’ve chosen and who have a realistic chance of going to the World Cup. The squad definitely has a lot of similarities with the one that we’ll announce at the end of May. There are players in the squad who we don’t know that well yet and who will now have the chance to prove themselves.

“It also means that one or two players will stay at home, players who we know contribute to the collective. It’s a good mixture of the experienced core, who will play at the World Cup, and fresh, new players.

“When everyone’s fit, the squad is pretty much set in stone. We won’t be doing any more experimentation – we’ve got clearly defined attacking and defensive tactics. We’ve played every game in the same way – now, there’ll be a blend to throw some variety into the mix.

“It’s a case of having the requisite variability in the event that the opposition adapt to our plan A. It’s normal for us to have three or four players in the squad to give them a chance to show what they’ve got. We can’t take everyone and give everyone the same opportunity, but nobody’s completely ruled out of contention yet.

“When you play, you should play to win. Tactical ideas take precedence, though. We want to make the most of the time we have in order to consolidate certain things and be armed for the decisive moments that occur on the pitch at tournaments. We also want to ensure that the new players integrate well and give them a platform to perform well.”

Switzerland scored 14 goals while conceding just two in their six games in qualification and have reason to relish the fixture of Nagelsmann’s men.

Murat Yakin’s side drew 1-1 with Germany in their previous meeting at Euro 2024, a tournament that saw them stun Italy in the last 16 before taking England all the way to penalties in the quarter-finals.

Switzerland face Norway in another friendly on Tuesday before Yakin will name his squad in May, but a game against their neighbour to the north has added significance.

“The games against the big neighbor are always very special,” said defender Silvan Widmer.

“I know many players from the German team, against whom I have competed in my career. That’s why I’m really looking forward to this game.”