The smack that Switzerland received against Portugal in the World Cup round of 16 is more than clear. A culprit is quickly found: trainer Murat Yakin. He surprisingly changes the game system, which goes completely wrong – and collectively displeases.
Gambled, gambled, lost – after the knockout round with the highest smack in Swiss World Cup history, Murat Yakin was met with massive criticism. The national coach of the Confederates “gambled high in the most important game of his career – and lost”, judged the “Blick”. At the beginning of the “debacle” against Portugal (1: 6), wrote the “Tagesanzeiger”, there was “the line-up of the coach”.
Due to the short-term absence of right-back Silvan Widmer, Yakin switched from the usual back four to a back three. The team knows the system, the Nati coach defended himself: “We were impatient, we looked for the offensive too quickly. We had a clear plan, but it didn’t work out.”
Yakin had “gambled” but also analyzed the “Neue Zürcher Zeitung”. Yakin, but also captain Granit Xhaka would have to question themselves, it was said. Criticism had already arisen when the squad was announced, since the national coach had only nominated two trained full-backs.
“It wasn’t our true face,” said former Bayern star Xherdan Shaqiri, who refrained from criticizing the system change. He is a professional, “if the coach says that we’ll change the formation, then I’ll try to get the best performance”. Frankfurt’s Djibril Sow said the disadvantage was “that you don’t feel so safe”.
When asked about his future, Yakin, whose contract runs until 2024, was evasive. “I don’t have the clear words. You have to get through something like that as a team and then draw the right conclusions,” he said. Gladbach goalkeeper Yann Sommer hasn’t made a decision either: “Now I’ll need a few days to process everything. Then we’ll see.”