Murat Yakin is firmly in the saddle

It is the day before the Swiss delegation leaves. It’s the day to take stock after the World Cup on Tuesday evening. Coach Murat Yakin, national team director Pierluigi Tami and association president Dominique Blanc will perform in the media tent on the grounds of Doha University.

On paper, the Swiss have qualified for the round of 16. But now there is also a defeat on the table with a result that does not make you think of a playoff game at a football World Cup, but of a one-sided set in tennis: 1:6. The result is an embarrassment that will continue to have an impact for a long time to come.

«We are disappointed, but . . .»: This sums up the message proclaimed by the three protagonists. Of course, the “but” was in the foreground, President Dominique Blanc even decorated his volte with a quote from Nietzsche. The ending was a beautiful contradiction to that.

Who said what to whom?

The head of the media, with the support of Yakin, instigated a brief but heated dispute with a journalist in front of the plenary session as to how exactly a taped statement by Granit Xhaka should be interpreted and interpreted phonetically. A case for notarized dialect research? Maybe.

But it is definitely a symptom of the fact that the day after the Portuguese slap in the face there is still a lot of bubbling and pounding in the bellies and heads of the delegation. Who said what to whom? When was which decision made and why?

There had already been some abnormalities before the match. For example the player Edimilson Fernandes, who for the first time in his career was supposed to secure the right flank in front of a back three and also played the same way: disoriented. Or the sudden system change just before the game.

“It wasn’t the system,” says Yakin. He reports on the first two goals conceded by set pieces. He discussed the change in the game system with the leading players. With whom exactly, he did not want to say when asked: “The leading players.”

When some of the possible leaders after the match in the belly of the Lusail Stadium moved past the crowds of journalists to the exit, Xherdan Shaqiri said that they were “surprised” about the change communicated two hours before the start of the match. Shaqiri played in the center instead of on the side. There he was ineffective.

The nomination of the ailing Fabian Schär instead of the recovered Nico Elvedi also caused irritation. Yakin said Elvedi hasn’t recovered yet, while the player commented on his health after the game: “Top fit.” Elvedi is said to have been quite upset, as was Haris Seferovic. The coach decides how the team plays, the result shows whether the coach made the right decision, says Elvedi. As a reminder: 1:6 was the result.

The contrast between what Yakin said and what his players said suggests that communication between coach and team was not working in the stressful situation ahead of the World Cup round of 16. “I’ll take responsibility if we win. And I’ll take over if we lose,” says Yakin, “we all have to take each other by the nose. We all made mistakes against Portugal.” The result doesn’t matter at all, it was just a matter of progress or elimination.

And the way? «Portugal was better, fresher. We have to accept that,” says Yakin. Point.

Commitment to Murat Yakin

Now there is a short phase of mourning, the emphasis is on “short”. And addressed to the journalists: «Your job is to see everything critically. My job is to rebuild the players.”

This is what it looks like in the national coach’s world the day after the bitter performance. check off Look ahead. Go on.

National team director Pierluigi Tami left no doubt that Yakin would continue as national coach. Yakin’s direct superior also spoke of a “serious disappointment”, the circumstances of which should be analyzed in the coming weeks. But he also referred to the past 13 months in which Yakin “delivered direct World Cup qualification and staying in Group A of the Nations League”. Now it’s about looking ahead.

Yakin will probably use the same players as at the World Cup when they next move in about three months. No one is known to be dealing with the resignation, says Tami. At best, Haris Seferovic could be a candidate, maybe goalie Yann Sommer, who is about to turn 34 as a team senior. And otherwise? See you again in the European Championship qualification! “We really want to take part in the Euro in Germany,” says Blanc.

It will continue at the end of March. Not in the golden Lusail Stadium in Doha, but in Minsk. Against Belarus. Israel, Romania, Andorra and Kosovo are the other opponents in the European Championship qualification.