Memories of eliminating then world champions France from the last Euros on penalties are still fresh in the mind for the Swiss. And it was a shoot-out that denied them a place in the semi finals as they went down to Spain.
They backed that up by reaching the knock-outs in Qatar at the last World Cup though they were unceremoniously dumped out by Portugal.
The match against Scotland won’t faze them in the slightest and coach Murat Yakin will know that a victory sees them through to the last 16 before they’ve even had a look at the Germans. The incentive for the Swiss is clear.
It doesn’t come without pressure, however, with Yakin having to be given a vote of confidence by the Swiss FA in the days before the tournament.
The appointment of experienced coach Giorgio Contini signalled a change of tactics in recent times to something similar to the successful formation deployed by Yakin’s predecessor Vladimir Petkovic.
A year and one day on from Scotland’s miracle of Oslo, do Steve Clarke and his players have a magic major tournament moment in them like that provided by Ally McCoist against the Swiss at Villa Park 28 years ago?
If not, this tournament they did so well to qualify for may pass them by.
2024-06-18 13:31:34
#Euro #Scotland #expect #Switzerland
