Position: Forward
Born: 15.07.79
Club: Rennes

Switzerland's top scorer in qualifying with six, Alexander Frei is edging his way up the nation's goalscoring charts with an impressive average of better than a goal every two games.

Best described as a poacher, always looking for rebounds and deflections, he is consistently in the right place at the right time to fire home.

Yet there is more to Frei's games than just being an old-fashioned 'goal hanger' and he has taken over the mantle of Switzerland's top man from veteran campaigner Stephane Chapuisat.

Beaten by only Michael Essien and Juninho in the voting for the Ligue 1 Player of the Year last season, Frei has been banging in the goals for Rennes since joining them in January 2003.

Prior to that he had been well travelled, with spells at Basle, Thun, Luzern and Servette - all before his 23th birthday!

And he could well be on the move again soon, with Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund among the clubs eyeing a swoop for him.

But controversy has dogged him in recent years, with first a spitting incident - he was cleared by UEFA after initially receiving a 15-day provisional ban at Euro 2004 - and then allegations of an obscene gesture at Turkey coach Fatih Terim casting a shadow over his career.

Yet through it all he has found the net with unerring regularity for both club and country and will be perhaps the key performer if Switzerland are to make any sort of progress this summer as evidenced by his six goals in qualifying.