The U21 national team faces important games in the European Championship qualifiers. The two youngsters Zachary Athekame and Bruno Ogbus talk to blue Sport about the embarrassing defeat in Luxembourg, the new coach Alex Frei and their World Cup dreams with the senior team.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- The Swiss U21s are under pressure and urgently need victories to qualify for the European Championship finals.
- After the surprising defeat against Luxembourg, the team wants to have learned from it and take every opponent seriously in future.
- Important points will now be scored against the Faroe Islands and Estonia, while at the same time the players will be dreaming of their long-term goal of participating in the World Cup.
For the U21 national team, the stakes are now high. If new coach Alex Frei's team still wants to make it to next summer's European Championship finals, victories are urgently needed.
Not least because Switzerland embarrassed themselves against Luxembourg in November. They lost 2:1 to the football dwarf. However, the two youngsters Zachary Athekame and Bruno Ogbus believe they have learned from this defeat.
"We have to be fully focused"
"We've learned not to underestimate any opponent and to play all games like a final," said Milan player Athekame in an interview with blue Sport. And Freiburg's Ogbus also confirms: "We always have to give everything to win. I think we'll be able to do that now."
The Swiss can already prove this on Friday. They face the Faroe Islands at 8pm and then Estonia on Tuesday. "These are not easy games. We have to be fully focused," Ogbus knows.
The World Cup dream is alive
While the U21s host the Faroe Islands in Thun, the senior team will be playing a test match against Germany in Basel, around 90 kilometers away, at the same time, preparing for next summer's World Cup. Do the youngsters still have the tournament somewhere in the back of their minds?
"Yes," says Athekame. "That's a very clear goal of mine." And Ogbus says: "I think every footballer would like to play in a World Cup. I hope to, of course, and I would be delighted." At the moment, however, the two are fully focused on the U21s.
The two have a good first impression of new coach Alex Frei. "We can feel his experience. We realize that he has experienced exactly what we are currently experiencing," says Athekame happily. "I'm enjoying the training sessions so far," says Ogbus.
