ISERLOHN (GERMANY) (ITALPRESS) – Solid as a bank, precise as a watch. In the Berlin that in 2006 saw us climb to the top of the world, Italy rediscovers the Switzerland that three years ago blocked our way to Qatar. And today, as then, the biggest mistake would be to take our neighbors lightly. Because Switzerland won’t have any great champions but it has a united group and well-oiled gears, thanks above all to Murat Yakin. A former midfielder with skill and vision, a talented coach capable of taking Basel to the semi-finals of the Europa League, in August 2021 he was called to lead the Swiss national team in place of Vladimir Petkovic and immediately made the big move, closing the group of qualification ahead of Italy, the new European champions, who had given three goals to Shaqiri and his teammates at the Olimpico a few months earlier. Zero to zero in Basel, one to one in Rome, with Jorginho the negative protagonist: in Switzerland he had a penalty saved by Sommer, on the return he shot it sky high after Di Lorenzo had made up for Widmer’s opener. Two errors from the spot which will effectively cost them their pass for the Winter World Cup, net of the flop in Belfast and above all Barbera’s Caporetto against modest Macedonia. Italy now has the chance to settle the score with destiny, but beware of trusting the statistics because if it is true that Switzerland has only beaten us 8 times in 61 matches, the last time in 1993, they await us on Saturday in Berlin a complicated race. The Swiss know us well, nine of them have played or still play in Serie A, and even if everything didn’t go smoothly in the qualifying group which ended behind Romania, see the draws with Belarus and Kosovo and the defeat against the Romanians themselves, a At Euro2024, Switzerland showed up dressed for great occasions: a show of strength on its debut against Hungary, a draw with Scotland, not without regrets, and a near-miss against hosts Germany. With Akanji the cornerstone of Guardiola’s City defence, Xhaka a metronome reborn in Leverkusen and the eternal Shaqiri far from dulled by his golden exile in MLS, Yakin has put together a close-knit orchestra, where everyone knows their own score well. Organization, resilience, character: three years ago Switzerland surprisingly eliminated the highly rated France and now dreams of another trip to the Azzurri. Now it’s up to Spalletti to find a way to get the Swiss hands off the ball.
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