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Report nowThe Swiss are still reeling from their World Cup stumble. Here are four areas the national team needs to address before their pivotal match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
When executed correctly, corner kicks and free kicks can immediately create scoring opportunities and are a crucial component, especially against defensively minded teams. However, the Swiss were completely ineffective on set pieces against Qatar. Although they earned ten corner kicks, none of them resulted in a dangerous opportunity. Yet the national team actually has players like Manuel Akanji, Nico Elvedi, and Breel Embolo, who are strong in the air.
The fact that Switzerland has now gone nine games without scoring from set pieces (excluding penalties) shows just how serious this shortcoming is. The last time the team celebrated goals from corner kicks was in September during their 3-0 win over Slovenia—when they even scored twice from corners. Now it seems necessary to place a greater emphasis on set pieces again in training.
The national team is investigating the causes.
Image: Keystone
Missed chances were the talk of the town after the match against Qatar. A look at the statistics is likely to be a veritable nightmare for the Swiss match analysts: 26 to 6 shots, 42 to 8 touches in the penalty area, 5 to 1 missed clear-cut chances, 368 to 68 passes in the opponent’s half, and 3.2 to 0.6 expected goals. A team with stats like that shouldn’t come away with just one point from the match.
In fact, the team should have gathered on the field as early as Sunday for an extra shooting practice session. But only the substitutes showed up, while the starting lineup players took part in a recovery session at the team hotel. At the very least, Murat Yakin should also consider working with a mental coach—as he did during the trip to the U.S. a year ago—to help overcome any mental blocks.
Murat Yakin swung between two extremes against Qatar: At first, the coach relied entirely on experience, and then, as the game slowly slipped away from the Swiss, it was the young players, of all people, who were tasked with providing stability. With his substitutions, he took players with a combined total of 363 international appearances off the field and replaced them with players who, together, have only 92 caps. Against Bosnia and Herzegovina, the coach must find a better mix.
At the same time, it’s important to question the individual substitutions. While the substitutions of Johan Manzambi and Fabian Rieder were understandable, the decisions to bring in Zeki Amdouni, Ardon Jashari, and Miro Muheim raised some eyebrows. Amdouni and Jashari saw very little playing time last season, and Muheim has no tournament experience.
In contrast, goal-scoring threats like Noah Okafor, Christian Fassnacht, and Cedric Itten—as well as experienced players like Silvan Widmer and Djibril Sow—remained on the bench.
As the game wore on and the number of missed chances increased, the Swiss players were seen more and more often arguing, gesturing, or debating, rather than encouraging one another, congratulating each other on successful plays, and thus making a fresh start. The players appeared increasingly unsettled. As a result, despite dominating for long stretches, the team lost control of the match in the second half and ultimately dropped two of the three points they had hoped to secure.
Against Bosnia and Herzegovina (Thursday, 9:00 p.m. Swiss time), the Swiss must not let any setbacks get to them so quickly. Captain Granit Xhaka, in particular, will be called upon—his qualities as a leader are well-known and have been praised at every club he’s played for. Now he must prove them on the field.
16.06.2026, 05:01
17.06.2026, 08:21
