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Report nowAfter the 1-1 draw in the World Cup opener against Qatar, Granit Xhaka criticized the team’s lack of discipline and failure to stick to their positions. The substitutes, in particular, took the brunt of his criticism.
“At this level, that shouldn’t happen,” Nati captain Granit Xhaka railed shortly after the final whistle in San Francisco, accusing some of his teammates of poor positioning following Qatar’s late equalizer. “We lost our rhythm toward the end of the second half. We weren’t playing in the same positions we were in during the first half. Everyone was running all over the place.”
The 33-year-old lashed out in a broad critique on the SRF microphone—and seemed to be taking aim primarily at some of the substitutes: “When the coach brings in a player and that player just tries to do everything, and you no longer have the discipline to hold certain positions, then it gets difficult.”
Xhaka adds that this “definitely” has to do with discipline: “In the end, you just have to do what the coach asks and not feel like you have to be the showman and do everything on your own.”
However, the national team captain doesn’t want to name names. “It’s not at all about which player or which substitution. I’m talking about the game in general. When you lose your patience, you also lose your discipline. You just have to stay patient.”
Granit Xhaka is frustrated by the lack of discipline shown by some of his teammates following the 1-1 draw against Qatar.
KEYSTONE
It’s clear that humility is called for right now. “We need to keep both feet on the ground and face reality. The reality right now is that we’re nowhere near ready to talk about a title, our best World Cup performance, or anything like that,” said Xhaka.
You can dream, but you also have to deliver. “Anyone can talk, but the hard part in soccer is doing it. Now we need to analyze the game with both feet on the ground and realize what happened. And then we’ll look ahead.”
Kobel and Akanji also expressed disappointment after the 1-1 draw. “We need to give the absolute maximum—absolute concentration down to the last detail, intensity, unity, and team spirit as Switzerland. It’s incredibly important that we put all these clichés into practice on the field,” said goalkeeper Kobel in his analysis.
Meanwhile, for the Swiss defensive leader, one thing is clear: “We only have ourselves to blame. We made a lot of technical mistakes, and the heat also played a role. But a game like this simply has to be decided early on.”
Murat Yakin echoed this sentiment. “It hurts a lot. That’s two points lost. We had good opportunities, but we just didn’t finish them off.”
Shortly after the match, the Swiss national team coach dismissed any talk of a lack of discipline. However, he noted that the team lacked cleverness in the final five or six minutes. “It hurts a lot. But that’s just how it is in soccer: If you don’t score up front, you’ll concede at the back.”
