The Swiss national team disappointed at the start of the Nations League and lost 1: 2 in Prague. The Swiss never gave the impression of being very consistent in their work.
Swiss helplessness: Silvan Widmer, Remo Freuler and Fabian Schär (from left to right) after the defeat in the Czech Republic.
The scene happened in the middle of the second half and it was fitting for this strange football game between Czech Republic and Switzerland: German referee Daniel Siebert was injured and had to be replaced by the fourth official. A few minutes earlier, the Swiss Djibril Sow had scored an own goal when he deflected a cross outside his own penalty area with his shoulders into the goal.
It was the 2-1 winning goal for the Czech Republic in a game that will at best be remembered because when Siebert was substituted they realized how tightly wired football referees have become.
Murat Yakin tried an experiment that went wrong
It had already been an odd first half in that first Nations League encounter. On Thursday evening in Prague, the Swiss never gave the impression of being very consistent. The start was still reasonably decent, after ten minutes Noah Okafor launched strike partner Breel Embolo with a fine pass, but Embolo was denied by Czech goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik, who also played for FC Basel.
For the most part, however, the Swiss were static, they made many bad passes and remained undecided. National coach Murat Yakin opted for a variable 4-4-2 system for the first time. It was an experiment that went awry – and at the same time underlined what these Nations League matches are ultimately: friendlies packed into a competition whose meaning is limited.
Nevertheless, it was puzzling how weak the Swiss selection presented itself before the break. Basically, only the ailing Manuel Akanji, the injured Denis Zakaria and the Chicago Fire player Xherdan Shaqiri, who had only joined the team two days before, were missing from the starting eleven. Captain Granit Xhaka remained exceptionally pale. And on the offensive, Okafor, Embolo and Ruben Vargas were insufficiently involved in the combinations.
The first goal came from a throw-in
The Swiss shortcomings could be seen in some values. The playfully modest but hard-working Czechs won around two thirds of all duels. And they made it 1-0 less than sixty seconds after Embolo’s missed chance after a long throw-in that flew through the Swiss penalty area. Central defenders Nico Elvedi and Fabian Schär hesitated and thus took the leading roles in this slapstick scene. In the end it was Jan Kuchta who took the lead unchallenged at the second post.
Because the Swiss and Schär in particular continued to defend carelessly, goalie Yann Sommer was able to distinguish himself with two strong saves. And just before the break, Okafor equalized after a round of billiards in the Czech penalty area.
After the break, the Swiss improved slightly in the system they are now used to, but this was far from enough for a convincing performance. Despite the improvement, Xhaka still did not have the expected access to the action, the defense remained vulnerable, and Embolo in particular lacked precision in the end.
And so it was the Czechs (who were missing some regulars like Leverkusen goalgetter Patrik Schick injured) who won 2-1 thanks to Sow’s curious own goal. The Swiss, on the other hand, are still waiting for their first win in 2022 after three international matches. It won’t be any easier on Sunday in Lisbon against the Portuguese, who drew 1-1 in Spain on Thursday.