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On Tuesday, Switzerland hosts Kosovo in the sold-out Letzigrund. The result is only secondary for once.
Granit Xhaka is approaching a milestone that only a handful of other players have reached before him. On Tuesday, the 29-year-old completed the 100th international match for Switzerland as only the sixth player after Heinz Hermann, Alain Geiger, Stéphane Chapuisat, Stephan Lichtsteiner and Xherdan Shaqiri.
The fact that Xhaka will celebrate this anniversary in a friendly against his parents’ motherland makes the whole thing even more special than it already is. “If I had had to write a book about my career, it would have looked exactly like this,” said the excited national captain.
A backpack full of different emotions
Almost 11 years have passed since Xhaka made his debut in the senior national team. He did this in what is probably the most traditional stadium of all, in a European Championship qualifier at London’s Wembley (2-2). The soon-to-be jubilee still remembers June 6, 2011 very well: “I was convinced that I would be emotionally ready. But when the anthems rang out, I wanted to ask Ottmar Hitzfeld to take me off the field. I was brutally nervous,” says Xhaka.
In terms of emotions, it belongs in the top 3 of my career.
On the way to his 100th cap on Tuesday, the Arsenal player experienced a number of ups and downs:
- World Cup 2014, first major finals: Back then as a right winger, Xhaka played his part in a strong Swiss performance in the round of 16 against Argentina. The Nati finally loses by a hair’s breadth with 0:1 in extra time. Nevertheless, Xhaka also has fond memories of this game: “Every Argentinian in the stadium applauded us after the final whistle and showed us how close we were.”
- EM 2016, the brother duel: Right at the start of the preliminary round, Switzerland duels with Albania. Granit Xhaka faces his brother Taulant. An experience that will last forever: “In terms of emotions, it belongs in the top 3 of my career.”
- EM 2016, the tragic hero: In the round of 16 against Poland, Xhaka was the only player to miss a penalty shoot-out from the point, sealing Switzerland’s exit. “I only really realized at home that we were eliminated because of me. That took me away.”
- World Cup 2018, key game against Serbia: Thanks to a 2-1 win, Switzerland opens the door to the round of 16. Due to the “double-headed eagle cheering” of the emotionally charged Xhaka and Shaqiri, however, the result recedes more and more into the background. In the round of 16 it was a bitter disappointment for the Nati against Sweden. “In the game against Serbia I lost a lot of (mental) energy. The focus was completely lost.”
- EM 2021, first “Coiffeur-Gate”, then coup: Freshly bleached Nati cracks concede a 0:3 smack against Italy and also get under the wheels in the media. “It’s a pity that we always have such ideas as coloring hair at big tournaments,” Xhaka jokes. But the negative headlines were followed by a reaction – and what a reaction: “The game against France can no longer be taken from us.”
A game of friendship
With the friendly against Kosovo in front of a full ranks in Zurich’s Letzigrund, there is no doubt that another career highlight will follow for Xhaka. The same applies to Shaqiri and Andi Zeqiri, who also have Kosovar roots. Murat Yakin is aware of the special character of this game: “It gets very emotional. The result is always important, but there are certainly other priorities on Tuesday,” said the national team coach.
Above all, Yakin wants to use this test match, which has a manageable sporting relevance, to give other players a chance to prove themselves. It is already clear that Gregor Kobel will guard the Swiss goal. Jordan Lotomba, Djibril Sow and Zeqiri could also be used from the start.
Possible Swiss line-up:
Kobel; Lotomba, Elvedi, Frei, Rodriguez; Xhaka, Sow; Okafor, Shaqiri, Vargas; Zeqiri.