Andreas Böni from Belfast
It is well after 10 p.m. local time when Murat Yakin appears in front of the media after the disappointing 0-0 in Northern Ireland. On “SRF” the national team coach had said about the game: “The speed of the ball that we hit the teammate immediately, the precision – that was missing.”
He doesn’t want to blame the team. «Back to zero, taken a point away, we have to be satisfied with that. In the next game we have to be much more specific and precise on the offensive. “
“Our game was dominant”
How he remembered the game this time after forgetting his appearance as a player against the Northern Irish: “Not as a big disappointment. We played a good game against a defensive team. We had a chance with the penalty. ” A good game? Yes, says Yakin, “our game was dominant. We played to zero twice. The impact was missing, the element of surprise. We cannot be disappointed, but neither can we be satisfied. “
He had “seen a team that wanted to play football.” Isn’t it not enough to have just one chance against such an opponent? “It’s not like we come here and give them three or four.”
When asked whether Xhaka and Shaqiri were absent, he said: “It worked from the way we wanted to play football.” Shaqiri will be there next month. You have to look at Xhaka, who is three games missing after his red card. But he has no symptoms, feels good after Covid and is recovering in Basel.
The question of the next shooter
Regarding Haris Seferovic’s missed penalty, he says: “It’s always a thing when someone feels good. Haris is important to the team. ” Blick asks Yakin whether Seferovic shot too casually: “Well, when the goalie goes into the other corner, it looks sovereign. So he has to put up with the accusation that it was not optimal. “
A Northern Irish journalist then makes him laugh when he asks why Rodriguez didn’t shoot, he was a good shooter. Yakin laughing: “Are you sure?” Rodriguez had fired three times in a row. Yakin: “Maybe we can find someone else to shoot.”
There have now been three games under Yakin: a 2-1 against Greece, twice a 0-0 against Italy and now in Northern Ireland. His conclusion: «Positive! It was a short time to study something. We got the best out of the conditions, who we missed everything. The spirit is intact. ” And about the game against Northern Ireland in October, he says: “Then we’ll pack them at home.”
His best moment? «I have to honestly say that the national anthem touched me a lot. The audience in Basel, the style of play. I am very happy with the team. “
He still believes that he can stop Italy on the way to first place: “We still have the direct encounters and the home games. We still have everything in our own hands. “