Switzerland will head for the World Cup finals in South Africa this summer with a modest record in the competition and a variable participation rate. The Swi s were not involved in the first World Cup, and have since qualified for 9 of the 18 finals. Their best performances in the competition are three quarter final appearances in 1934, 1938 and when hosting the event in 1954. A modest record, yes, but set in context with its small Sam Hubbard Jersey , seven million population and a more popular group of winter sports, Switzerland can be proud of their World Cup history.Switzerlands debut match in the World Cup finals was in the preliminary round of 1934 against the Netherlands, winning 3-2. Leopold Keilholz became the first Swi s player to score at a World Cup. Eventual runners-up, Czechoslovakia were to knock the Swi s out in the quarter-finals, 3-2.Switzerland reached the quarter final stage again in the next World Cup in 1938, losing out to Hungary, 2-0, however all the attention was on the Swi s teams Austrian coach, Karl Rappan. The Swi s side remarkably overturned a 2-0 deficit against Germany in a first round replay to progre s 4-2, but it was the tactics with which they succeeded that was highlighted. Rappan had devised a defensive tactical system that relied on collective team work and the use of a sweeping defender, in the so-called verrou or bolt system. This system was acknowledged to have influenced Josh Malone Jersey the development of the catenaccio, Italian for bolt, a tactical system utilised effectively in the 1960s.Karl Rappan, creator of the bolt systemA mixed showing at the 1950 finals resulted in a group stage exit; however, the Swi s left the tournament with a credible 2-2 draw with the host nation, Brazil. Switzerland was elected to host the 1954 finals and performed well, reaching their third quarter final. Due to the unusual nature of the format for this World Cup, Switzerland had to beat Italy in a play-off to qualify from the group stage, as they finished tied for 2nd place. The 1954 finals produced 140 goals in just 26 matches, with an average of over five goals per game, so it is with no surprise that this remains the highest scoring World Cup to date. The hosts played their part in the high-scoring Jake Fisher Jersey stakes, losing 7-5 to Austria in the quarter final, which is the highest scoring match in World Cup history. Despite leading the game 3-0 early on, the Swi s succumbed to an emphatic Austrian comeback in a match played in soaring heat. The match is known as Hitzeschlacht von Lausanne, meaning the heat battle of Lausanne, as temperatures reached 35C. There was meaningful succe s for the hosts however, as Swi s striker Sepp Huegi finished joint runner-up for the Golden Shoe with six goals.The official logo of the 1954 World CupThe period after hosting the finals was disappointing at best. After failing to win a game during the qualification stage for the 1958 finals, Switzerland made it through in 1962, but went on to lose all three group stage matches to depart immediately. The signs were ominous for the Swi s heading into the 1962 finals, Tyler Kroft Jersey when during a 4-0 defeat to Sweden during qualifying; they failed to score past a defender in goal for the Swedes for more than half of the match! A woeful showing followed in 1966, with the Swi s failing to muster a single point and only scoring once in three forgettable games. Failure to qualify for any of the next six World Cups left Swi s football reeling for a long, 20 year Cedric Peerman Jersey period.It wasnt until USA 1994 that Switzerland was able to qualify once more. A 4-1 drubbing of Romania helped them qualify for the knock-out phase, though their succe s ended there, as a crushing 3-0 defeat at the hands of Spain left the team heading east acro s the Atlantic.The Swi s mi sed out on qualifying for both the 1998 and 2002 finals, although their involvement at the 2006 finals would be most bizarre. Their journey ended with inaccuracies from 12 yards, as Ukraine knocked the Swi s out, 3-0 in a penalty shoot-out in their last 16 contest. Two records were set by the Swi s however, as they became the first nation to fail to score a single penalty during a shoot-out and, maybe the more infuriating of the two, became the first nation to have been eliminated from the competition without conceding a goal!