From defense to attack, here are the strengths and weaknesses of Switzerland, which will face Italy on Saturday in the European Championship round of 16. Three goals conceded in three games (always from high balls), Xhaka leading a midfield in which Aebischer showed great things and the many solutions in attack, from Duah to Ndoye.
the defence
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Switzerland played its best match of this European Championship against Germany; he received well-deserved compliments from the Germans and will have worried the Azzurri who watched the match. Starting from the defense, here are positive characteristics and weaknesses. Yann Sommer, title winner with Inter, commands the central block. The hierarchies are clear: Fabian Schär, the Premier League champion Manuel Akanji (Manchester City), plus the Torino captain Ricardo Rodriguez. They know each other, they understand each other. The four of them total 353 appearances for the national team. The goalkeeper has a constant performance and the uncertainty with Germany on Andrich’s shot was canceled by the VAR due to a previous foul. The central defenders have good recovery ability, make good use of their positional sense and are not excessively fouled. Akanji leads the line from the center, makes his charisma count. However: Switzerland has conceded three goals so far, one per game, but the second is on a deflection from Schär. And the goals, like the best opportunities for the opponents, came from the sky, on high balls. Füllkrug’s header the other evening is identical to a missed opportunity by Hungarian Varga, who also scored with a header, in the first match. The unstable positioning on crosses was noted, especially those from the left of the attack. And in the center of the area, defending against three jumping Germans, was midfielder Xhaka.
midfield
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Let’s start from the sides of Yakin’s 3-4-2-1. The question mark will be the coverage of the right wing, which should be entrusted to Leonidas Stergiou, only 5 appearances, Stuttgart reserve and Silvan Widmer in the national team, who however is disqualified. His replacement has not convinced so far. Furthermore, the corridor is also partially covered if the attacking midfielder is a true striker. On the other side, however, Yakin surprisingly set up Michel Aebischer, and the Bolognese surprised everyone in the first match with an assist and his first goal for the national team. Then it normalized, but against Germany the agreement with Rodriguez to cover the entire sector was invaluable. Nine recoveries for him, the best. Aebischer fluctuates between the outside and the inside, he also moves into the three-quarter area, centrally, with possession, to exchange or try a shot. Granit Xhaka is the captain, leader on the pitch in the locker room; he is more of a “worker” than at Leverkusen, where he is more surrounded by his teammates in the dribble and often functions as a splendid third man. An example: the other evening for him “only” 12 short passes. The national team is more direct, without too much possession, has different patterns to those of Xabi Alonso and he still gets his shirt dirty to close on Kroos, to steal the ball from Musiala that led to the goal. He knows how to show up forward to shoot from afar. Remo Freuler accompanies him, without being a mastiff in terms of characteristics. He looks for the game, sees the spaces, already has two assists in three games. But both don’t defend by holding the ball, they try to overturn the field to win it back and if they pick up the pace they can be attacked.
the attack
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Three different central strikers in the three matches of the tournament, with the two attacking midfielders also changing during the match. Not having a leader, Yakin uses this solution of rotating the offensive men, but everyone is performing excellently. Kwadwo Duah, the first nine, unlocked the European Championship with the first goal against Hungary. Xherdan Shaqiri scored in spectacular fashion for Scotland. Breel Embolo, the third, had already made his mark on his debut and on Sunday against the rough Germans he made himself felt physically. Having recovered from his injury, he should be the starter against the Azzurri. Around them the attacking attacking midfielders, wingers or attackers rotate, exchange, cut, dribble, score and make mistakes, like Dan Ndoye, a goal against the Germans, scored brilliantly by Thiago Motta like Aebischer and Freuler, or the imaginative Ruben Vargas or the flexible Fabian Rieder. They can find the play that makes the difference, but sometimes they forget to help from behind. The amount of options, including Zeki Amdouni, also allows the coach to change the entire department, allowing freshness and mental strength: if you know you only play for an hour, you never save yourself. Murat Yakin is a coach waiting for a new contract, even if qualifying for the round of 16 should be enough to obtain a renewal. He has smoothed over some differences with the leaders, especially with Xhaka. He changed the system in the autumn, with the three-man defense and the rotating attack. And it should be considered that there is another element in the forward department of the squad who has not yet played a minute but can be useful for changes up front: it is AC Milan player Noah Okafor.
