- The Swiss team beat the United States 2-1 in the penultimate test against the European Nations Cup in St. Gallen.
- The national team is unable to shine and shows poor performance, especially in the first half – including a missed penalty.
- The last test match before the European Championship is against Liechtenstein on Thursday, before the serious game against Wales on June 12.
With a sense of accomplishment, the Swiss national team is heading into the final straight towards the European Championship. Vladimir Petkovic’s team beat the USA 2-1 in St. Gallen. But the national team also understands that there is still much room for improvement. That there is still a lack of defensive stability and offensive penetration. In view of the experimental nature of the game and the physically demanding training camp, it can be made clear that the last mission was missing.
Two missed opportunities from Breel Embolo exemplify the problem in attack. Within a very short time he failed twice against US goalkeeper Ethan Horvath (54/57). When he fouled for the third time, Steven Zuber (63th place) was right to take the 2-1 win. Remo Froeller, whose first-half substitution for the Swiss match gave a lot of momentum (81) and Haris Seferovic (83) gave the final decision. From the unruly American balls, Claudio Reina hit the post (51).
Rodriguez ‘5. Penalty
Switzerland was shocked at the start of the first half. Dortmund’s Reina was allowed to pass, and Nico Elvedi didn’t take the ball away. And so Sebastien Leggett rushed in after about 4 minutes to make it 1-0. Now the national team appears to have woken up, shortly after meeting Ricardo Rodriguez to equalize (tenth) after showing Sylvain Widmer an overview. He was fortunate that his testimony had been lost.
Regardless, the state of vigilance, which did not converge much in Switzerland, was only a temporary state. Fabian Scherr’s comeback was fortunate because his unsuccessful dribbling in his own penalty area did not result in any consequences (28). Therefore, the national team managed only one noteworthy scene: after a brilliant pass from the pale Xherdan Shaqiri, Serginho blocked Dest’s wing and destroyed with his hand. Executing penalty kicks in line with the picture: Rodriguez puts the ball past the goal (42). With 23 penalties as a professional footballer, this was his already failed fifth attempt.
So it continues
On Tuesday, Petkovic has to report on the final 26-man squad for the All-European League. The last test against Liechtenstein follows two days later (6pm, live on SRF two days). On June 12, 16 and 20, the national team will face Wales, Italy and Turkey in the round of 16.
Football: the national team
“Creator. Troublemaker. Reader. Tv nerd. Proud beer advocate. Unable to type with boxing gloves on. Introvert. Certified zombie practitioner. Thinker.”
More Stories
Sports News Today – Swiss and International
So short! Nike's US apparel for the 2024 Olympics is causing problems
Women's Ice Hockey World Cup: Canada defeats the USA