After the brilliant performance against Italy, it can be said that Murat Yakin has once again made the right personnel decisions. But now he faces a new situation.
"There are pills for that," Yakin replied mischievously. The reporter asked whether he was already getting a headache when he thought about the next starting line-up. At least the Swiss national team coach will have Silvan Widmer, who was recently suspended, back at his disposal for the quarter-final on Saturday (18:00). After the strong performance against Italy, however, the question arises: didn't these players deserve to be back in the formation that was obviously working well?
Yakin said that he would rather have these "luxury headaches" than others. The coach knows very well how valuable it is that he currently has a squad of 26 players at his disposal. After all, the Swiss started the European Championship campaign with three players who had either just returned from injury (Breel Embolo) or were still suffering from one (Denis Zakaria, Steven Zuber). Now they are all fit, but only eleven players can be on the pitch at any one time.
Ndoye withdrawn
So far, Yakin has also made his personnel decisions out of necessity. He had to line up the right striker, find someone for the left side of the midfield four or replace the suspended Silvan Widmer. Yakin has so far succeeded in finding the right team. The strong chess player has shown no fear of castling. Against Italy, the 49-year-old also took the bold decision to move Dan Ndoye, who had been outstanding in attack until then, back one position. Widmer's nominal replacement Leonidas Stergiou only came into the game in the 70th minute.
And again it worked. Although Yakin was not entirely satisfied with the start of the game. "At the beginning, everything went down the left side," he said. "Dan was almost out of work at times." Later on, however, the 23-year-old was able to show off his speed. With this, he is and remains a key player in the Swiss team.
In attack, Fabian Rieder brought another important element to the Swiss game with his tenacity in pressing, as he did against Germany. "We harmonized very well," said Rieder. "Everyone knew exactly where to go. The spaces were always occupied." That is a quality that characterizes the team: Everyone is prepared to go the extra mile.
Shaqiri out of action again
With their performances, Ndoye and Rieder even managed to almost make a certain Xherdan Shaqiri forgotten alongside Silvan Widmer. It was UEFA who remembered the 32-year-old with a prefabricated congratulation on reaching the quarter-finals. Three Swiss national team players can be seen in the published picture. Most prominent in the middle: Shaqiri, proudly presenting the Swiss jersey.
This was the third time Shaqiri did not play in the fourth European Championship match. With his dream goal against Scotland, he proved that he can still play a decisive role in the game with his "magic foot". However, it now seems undisputed that the Chicago player is not fit enough to go that extra mile against big nations like Italy.
Ndoye and Rieder on the right and Aebischer and Vargas on the left have submitted a letter of application for further appearances with their performances. Replacing one of them seems almost negligent in view of their current top form. Which brings us back to the initial question: Should Yakin make any changes at all in the quarter-finals?
Yakin's thoughts
Yakin remained vague as usual. "We have a lot of options in our system, which allows for flexibility," replied the national team coach, who also emphasized the important role of the substitutes. "They give their all in training and drive their teammates to peak performance." Everyone has a role that contributes to success. In the specific case of the right-back position, it always depends on the opponent. "Sometimes it makes more sense to use a defender or, as against Italy, a midfielder there."
In this respect, Yakin has made the right decisions so far. Now the long-criticized national team coach has almost a whole week to prepare his team for the next challenge. Whether he will need a headache pill or two remains to be seen.
SDA
