Switzerland loses for the first time under Yakin

The 78th minute of the football game England – Switzerland was actually not the moment to rummage around in memories. Harry Kane had just made it 2-1 with a penalty, it was loud in the stadium and England were on top – but in case anyone has forgotten in the past few months: Yes, Murat Yakin is the Swiss national coach who was said to be able to do everything .

Yakin took over the selection last summer and immediately led them to the World Cup at the end of 2022. And on Saturday he came to Wembley Stadium for the first time, to this legendary London sports venue that welcomed 78,881 spectators for this mere test match – and again it seemed as if just pass everything with Yakin, even the opponent’s lineup.

The Swiss looked for a patient way into the game; they went on the offensive, but not too much, they let the English come, but not too much. And after just over 20 minutes they were in the lead, after a cross from Xherdan Shaqiri, Breel Embolo headed in to make it 1-0. Embolo got the better of defenders Ben White and Kyle Walker-Peters, who looked as experienced as they are. White has had two caps so far, with Walker-Peters even making his debut. Another defender made his debut in Marc Guéhi, Conor Coady made his ninth appearance for the national team and Conor Gallagher made his second appearance.

The Swiss plus in experience

The Swiss plus in experience paid off. Central defender Fabian Frei hit the crossbar, Shaqiri hit the post from a corner, but the English were barely noticeable in the first half. The biggest applause came when three Englishmen trotted to the finish well before the break.

It would have stayed that way if Frei hadn’t made a serious pass error after 45 minutes – and if the English hadn’t had a tried-and-true defender in Luke Shaw on the field after all. Shaw may be just 26 but he seems like the archetype of previous generations of English footballers, incorruptible as a bouncer – or determined enough to get past any bouncer. In the European Championship final against Italy, he put the English in the lead, and against the Swiss he used Frei’s mistake to make it 1-1.

It wasn’t like an English power play took off. On the contrary, the second half rippled along so that there were plenty of moments to rummage through memories. At some point, England coach Gareth Southgate realized that there were more players on the bench that he had used in the European Championship final.

Yaking says: “It was the right lineup, the right system, the right strategy too.”

And so, after just over an hour, Jack Grealish, Raheem Sterling and Declan Rice suddenly ran onto the field and the spectators screamed as if to rehearse a goal celebration. They were practiced accordingly a good quarter of an hour later, after a video decision per penalty – and after Captain Kane’s goal against Jonas Omlin, who represented Yann Sommer, who was suffering from Corona, in the Swiss goal. In this duel, Kane vs. Omlin, the routine relationship clearly spoke for England: Omlin completed the third international match, Kane scored in the 68th international match for the 49th time.

Someone later asked Yakin why he did smile a little at the end. “You might have to smile away a defeat in a test match for a moment,” said Yakin. What he had said before: Frei showed a good game until the mistake before the 1: 1 – “it was the right line-up, the right system, the right strategy too”. In other words, the coach’s opinion: Almost everything went well again – and a smile is put on the rest.

England 2-1 Switzerland (1-1)
Wembley,London. – 78 881 spectators. – SR Ekberg (SWE). – Gates: 22 Embolo (Shaqiri) 0-1. 45 Shaw (Gallagher) 1-1. 78. Kane (hand penalty/hand game Zuber) 2:1.
England: Pickford; White, Coady, Guéhi; Walker-Peters (Sterling 62), Gallagher (Rice 61), Henderson, Mount (Grealish 62), Shaw (61, Mitchell); Foden (80th Bellingham), Kane (89th Watkins).
Switzerland: Omlin; Widmer (36th Mbabu), Frei, Akanji, Rodriguez; Freuler (62nd Sow), Xhaka; Steffen (62nd Zeqiri), Shaqiri (80th Aebischer), Vargas (63rd Zuber); Embolo (80. Gavranovic).
Remarks: England without Saka (ill) and Alexander-Arnold (injured), Switzerland without Sommer (ill) and Schär, Zakaria, Fassnacht and Seferovic (all injured). 25. Pickford directs Frei’s shot to the crossbar. 38. Corner by Shaqiri to the post. No warnings.