- With a goal conceded in the 50th minute, Switzerland lost their last European Championship qualifying game in Romania 0-1.
- The national team has 59 percent possession of the ball, but like last time against Israel and Kosovo, they are disappointing.
- Because the Yakin team only finished their group in second place, they only ended up in pot 4 in the EURO draw.
Almost two and a half years can feel like a short eternity. It was just 29 months ago when the national team reached the European Championship quarter-finals in a thrilling game against the reigning world champions France in a penalty shootout. A great moment.
The location of the Swiss highlight was the Arena Nationala in Bucharest. The Nati’s last European Championship qualifying game against Romania took place in this stadium on Tuesday evening in front of 50,000 spectators. And nothing was reminiscent of the inspiring performance of 2021. This was not only due to the opponent, but above all to Switzerland.
There were good attempts against the modest Romanians, but ultimately, as in previous weeks, it was a very disappointing performance despite a lot of possession of the ball. Inadequacies in defense led to the goal being conceded, there was once again a lack of efficiency in the offense and unconditional dedication was not evident either.
5 points behind Romania instead of a perfect qualification
In the end, the scoreboard in Bucharest showed 1-0 for the home team. This is not a tragedy for Switzerland, as they had already qualified for the finals in Germany. But due to this defeat, the national team only finished second in qualifying group I – 5 (!) points behind Romania, number 48 in the world.
8 months ago we wanted to complete the qualification with lots of victories. Now Murat Yakin’s team suffered their first defeat in Bucharest. Of their 10 games in this modest group, the national team only won 4. At the EURO draw in Hamburg, the SFV selection is now only placed in pot 4 – which makes it more difficult to reach the knockout phase in the summer.
Nice goal from Romania
Denis Alibec scored the only goal of the game in the 50th minute. It was a beautifully executed goal, with Xherdan Shaqiri, Ulisses Garcia and Ricardo Rodriguez standing too far away from their opponents. At the same time, it was the first goal that the national team conceded in this qualification before the 65th minute.
Switzerland subsequently looked for a 1-1 draw and also created a few top opportunities – such as those from Noah Okafor (60′) and Ruben Vargas (61′). But the unconditional resistance to defeat was not seen.
Yakin switches to 4 positions
Coach Yakin made 4 changes compared to the Israel game. Yvon Mvogo played in goal, Rodriguez returned to defense, and Dan Ndoye and Michel Aebischer also started. But this quartet couldn’t give the national team a boost either.
The trend in recent months has been pointing steeply downwards. While Switzerland had clearly beaten Belarus (5-0) and Israel (3-0) at the start of the qualifying, the following 8 matches resulted in only 2 successes against soccer dwarf Andorra.
This is how it continues
The disappointment in Romania ends the national team’s year of international matches. There is still an important date on the calendar in 2023: On December 2nd, the groups for the 2024 final round (June 14th to July 14th) will be drawn in Hamburg. There are some top-class opponents waiting for Switzerland in Pot 4. It is to be hoped that she finds it less difficult against them than against Israel, Kosovo, Romania and Co.