EM Germany’s opponents
After three days in Germany, the Swiss complain
Status: 3:08 p.m. | Reading time: 4 minutes
The turf in the stadium on the Waldau is causing discontent among the Swiss
Source: dpa/Bernd Weißbrod
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Things have not been going well for Switzerland recently. The trend is pointing downwards, and now there is trouble over the pitch in the European Championship quarters. The association is already looking for alternatives. From a sporting perspective, the Swiss need to be humble.
Switzerland began the final phase of its preparations for the European Championship on Monday. However, the German group opponent is anything but satisfied with the pitch conditions in Stuttgart. The quality of the pitch is “clearly inadequate,” said national team director Pierluigi Tami following the public unity, which was attended by 3,800 fans in the Stuttgarter Kickers stadium. Alternatives are already being sought. The European football association UEFA has “promised to do everything to improve the situation,” reported the 62-year-old.
There are unevenness in the composition of the turf, explained Swiss press spokesman Adrian Arnold. The problem had been known about since the weekend. However, according to director Tami, the players were still negatively surprised.
Led by captain Granit Xhaka from German champions and DFB Cup winners Bayer Leverkusen, the Swiss had previously completed a relaxed one-hour session. After moving into their team quarters not far from the Stuttgart TV tower in the afternoon, the Swiss were personally welcomed onto the pitch by Stuttgart’s mayor Frank Nopper (CDU) and Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens).
Bumpy preparation for Switzerland
The road to the continental showdown in the neighboring country was already fraught with hurdles for the “Nati”, as the team is known to the local fans. Switzerland has only won one of the seven previous qualifying matches – 3:0 against football underdog Andorra. The fact that they still managed to finish second in Group I and thus take part in the final round of the European Championship for the sixth time was due to the selection’s strong start: the team picked up 14 points from the first six matches.
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The worrying trend was not only met with criticism for the team’s absolute exceptional player: Granit Xhaka is the star of the team and, with 124 appearances, also Switzerland’s record international player. The Swiss team’s game, which will face the hosts of the European Championship in the final group match on June 23, depends on his form. Just like at his club Bayer Leverkusen, he is also considered a style-setting figure in the defensive midfield for the Swiss. After moving from Arsenal to the Rhine, he won the double with Leverkusen in his first season – and brought the story of the eternal “Vizekusen” to a crashing end.
Leverkusen’s Granit Xhaka is the star of the team and also Switzerland’s record international player with 124 appearances
Quelle: DeFodi Images via Getty Images/DeFodi Images
Now the national team is also set to go far this summer. Switzerland can rely on a strong axis: Yann Sommer (Inter Milan) is an exceptional goalkeeper in goal, while in front of him, defensive leader Manuel Akanji (Manchester United) is defending at the highest level, Xhaka is providing momentum in the next line – and up front, Xherdan Shaqiri (Chicago Fire FC) and Breel Embolo (AS Monaco) are expected to score the necessary goals.
Swiss coach had to fear for his job
But first of all, a little humility is called for: Switzerland has always survived the group phase of major tournaments in recent years: “Of course, that is our first goal this time too,” explains coach Murat Yakin in the “NZZ”, “but I’m not going to say anything ambitious here that I’ll have to hear all the time at the European Championships. We will be well prepared and I’m sure that it will be a very exciting group phase. We know exactly how uncomfortable Hungary and Scotland can be. But what is also clear is that the other teams are not looking forward to the duels against us.”
The 49-year-old, who sees Germany as one of the favorites to win the title, has led the selection since August 9, 2021 and had to fear for his future because of the poor results. The European Championship is now the next important assessment for the former VfB Stuttgart and 1. FC Kaiserslautern player.
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The Swiss’ great potential should be enough to easily reach the knockout round. But this year, they won’t be able to do better than in 2021, when the “Nati” celebrated its greatest success at a European Championship by reaching the quarter-finals (2:4 on penalties against Spain).
