Degen was out with long-term injury. In May, Köbi Kuhn named him in the squad for the Euro 2008. He played every match at the tournament and eventually replaced Degen as first choice right back. Switzerland ended the tournament with two losses and a win. He retained his starting place under new manager Ottmar Hitzfeld and played every minute in 8 of the 10 2010 World Cup qualifiers. Lichtsteiner played seven games in UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying, with the Swiss failing to reach the finals in Poland and Ukraine. He scored his first international goal on 11 October 2010 in the final game, a 2–0 win over Montenegro in Basel. In 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, he played eight full matches in a successful campaign, scoring two first-half goals on 6 September 2013 in a 4–4 draw with Iceland at the Stade de Suisse. Manager Vladimir Petković named him in the 23-man squad for the finals in Brazil, where he played every minute in a run to the last 16. Due to injury to regular captain Gökhan Inler, Lichtsteiner wore the Swiss armband for the first time on 14 October 2014 in his 70th match, a 4–0 away win over San Marino in UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying. Prior to the finals in France Lichtsteiner was made permanent captain as Inler was dropped due to lack of playing time at club level. The Swiss made it out of the group stage and faced Poland in the Round of 16. With the score at 1–1, the match was decided by penalties, and Lichtsteiner took first and scored but the Swiss lost as Granit Xhaka missed. In 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Lichtsteiner scored in home wins over the Faroe Islands, Andorra and Hungary, as the Swiss qualified through the play-offs. He was named in Petković's 23-man squad for the finals in Russia. On 8 June, in the final warm-up game against Japan, he became the fourth Swiss to earn 100 international caps in the 2–0 victory. He was fined 5,000 Swiss francs after the 2–1 group win over Serbia for joining Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka in their controversial goal celebrations and later defended their actions. Managerial career On 1 February 2022, Licthsteiner was appointed as Basel under-15s team coach. Style of play A dynamic, hard-working, consistent, and versatile defender, Lichtsteiner was capable of playing anywhere along the right flank, and had