1: 2 in Prague against the Czech Republic – strange goals conceded and inability to ensure Swiss false start – sport

  • At the start of the Nations League, Switzerland lost 2-1 away to the Czech Republic.
  • Two slapstick goals gave Murat Yakin’s team a deserved defeat.
  • In the meantime, Noah Okafor can equalize for Switzerland to make it 1-1.

After a mixed performance in Prague, the Swiss national team has already given in to weakness against the supposedly worst group opponents. The start of this year’s Nations League campaign was a complete failure.

There weren’t too many positive aspects in Switzerland’s game. There was, for example, Noah Okafor’s 2nd goal in the 5th international match via the lower edge of the bar shortly before the break, which gave the team the 1-1 out of nowhere. Or the increase in performance in the second 45 minutes. And if need be, a few more highlights from the well-disposed Breel Embolo, who formed the storm duo alongside Okafor.

Slapstick goals fit into the picture

But apart from Silvan Widmer’s attempt in the 66th minute, Switzerland didn’t really have a convincing chance of equalizing for a long time. In the 7-minute stoppage time, which became necessary due to a change in the referee position (the German referee Daniel Siebert had to be replaced by the 4th official), Granit Xhaka shot just over the Czech goal (91st), including the substitute Haris Seferovic missed the 2: 2 (93rd).

Above all, it was surprising that the Swiss were so imprecise in the offensive game. That hardly changed when creative Xherdan Shaqiri came on in the 68th minute. The 1:2 was deserved, also because something was wrong in the back team. Inability and bad luck led to 2 strange goals conceded:

It was also thanks to Yann Sommer with two saves against Jankto that the weak first half was not 0:2 after half an hour.

Last win in Nations League 2018

The central defense with Elvedi and Schär could not muster the usual stability not only at 0:1. In the absence of Manuel Akanji, the two did not always look confident. The players didn’t seem to like the unusual 4-4-2 system that Yakin played with Djibril Sow on the right flank at the beginning.

Apart from the 3-0 forfait victory over Ukraine at the end of 2020, Switzerland has been waiting for a win in the Nations League since November 2018 and the 5-2 win against Belgium. For Yakin, it was the first competitive game he lost as national team coach.

Now against Portugal

The team has the chance to make amends as early as next Sunday. The match against Portugal continues in Lisbon. Kick-off is at 8:45 p.m., SRF Zwei will broadcast live from 8:10 p.m.

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