Despite a bitter penalty shoot-out loss to England in the quarter-finals, the national team won the hearts of all Swiss players. The team impressed at the European Championships, but not everyone will feel like a winner. These 7 imagined their roles very differently.
No time? blue Sport summarizes for you
- Collectively, the national team impressed at the European Championships. But the tournament is not going according to plan for every player.
- blue Sport names 7 Swiss national team stars who left Germany on Sunday rather frustrated despite qualifying for the quarter-finals.
Defense
Nico Elvedi (27)
Until shortly before the start of the European Championship, it seemed to be a neck-and-neck race between him and Fabian Schär in the three-man defense. For a long time, it even seemed as if Elvedi had the edge. But Yakin opted for Schär. And he stuck with it, even when Schär fumbled an unsuccessful defensive attempt against Scotland and broke goalkeeper Sommer's nose. Elvedi did not play a single European Championship minute. Yet Elvedi was still a regular at the last European Championship, the last World Cup and also in last year's European Championship qualifiers. Bitter! But despite the frustration of the European Championships, Elvedi's desired move after 9 years at Gladbach seems to be working out. Going to the Premier League? According to "Bild", Wolverhampton Wanderers are interested in him, as they were a year ago.
Storm
Noah Okafor (24)
The 24-year-old striker has made regular appearances for Milan this season. His record of 6 goals and 2 assists in 28 Serie A appearances is impressive. And with Switzerland's star striker Breel Embolo not yet fit for the European Championship after a long injury lay-off, Okafor rightly believes he has a chance of making the starting line-up. But things turned out very differently. In game one, Yakin surprises with Duah, who plays in Bulgaria, in the starting line-up. Against Scotland, Shaqiri is allowed to play as a hanging striker. Embolo then returns. And the wings are also occupied: Ndoye, Vargas and Rieder alternate. And Okafor? He'll be on the bench for the entire European Championship.
Midfield
Renato Steffen (32)
He played in nine out of ten games in the European Championship qualifiers, often from the bench, but not always. He was long regarded as Murat Yakin's wonder weapon. When he needed energy, Yakin let Steffen loose. Whether on the left, right, defensively or offensively. Steffen is always on fire. He moved back to the Super League in the summer of 2022, partly because he wanted match practice for the big tournaments with the national team, for the World Cup and the European Championship. And now this! In Germany, he played just one minute - in the 2:0 win over Italy. "I'm not the type to give up. I will keep fighting for my chance. Until the end of this tournament," he told blue Sport after the Italy game. He was again not allowed to play in the quarter-final against England, and now the tournament is over. Steffen had also imagined things differently.
Midfield
Ardon Jashari (21)
The precocious player was already in the 2022 World Cup squad. In Qatar, he even made a brief one-minute appearance in the round of 16 against Portugal (1:6). He surprisingly played his way into the squad for the European Championship in Germany, even though there had been disagreements beforehand because he did not want to make the U21 team. Although the midfield jewel is in Germany, he remains invisible to the public. Jashari, who moved from Lucerne to Bruges in Belgium this summer, is not used at all. Not a second, not a headline. The consolation for him is that he still has his whole footballing life ahead of him.
Midfield
Denis Zakaria (27)
As with Breel Embolo, Murat Yakin makes no secret of how important Zakaria is to his game plan. He leaves two places in the squad open for the two convalescents. But unlike Embolo, the Monaco midfield puncher will also have to sit out when he is fit again. Freuler is set alongside Xhaka in the center. The first replacement is Sierro. Zakaria, our fastest midfielder, is only allowed to play the last 22 minutes of the tournament against England. Not enough for someone like him. Far too little. Zakaria's market value is estimated at 25 million euros by transfermarkt.com. This makes him the third most valuable Swiss player after Akanji (45 million) and Kobel (40 million).
Goalkeeper
Gregor Kobel (26)
He was the first Swiss goalkeeper to play in the Champions League final, was named the best keeper in the premier class and has been outstanding at Borussia Dortmund. But at the European Championship, Kobel is only on the bench. Yann Sommer, Inter's champion goalkeeper, is set. Hard to accept for someone driven by ambition like him - as a junior he wanted to train even though he had his arm in plaster. blue expert Zuberbühler says in the home game: "I know how Greg feels. There is a lot of dissatisfaction. I felt like I was in a straitjacket and couldn't break out, couldn't develop." At least Kobel was able to adjust to his role; Yakin had already announced the goalkeeping hierarchy at the start of the year.
Midfield
Xherdan Shaqiri
He must have imagined this European Championship very differently. For years he has been the undisputed star of the national team, but now he is no longer even playing a leading role at the European Championships. The 32-year-old is only in the starting line-up against Scotland. He made a brief appearance against England. Nevertheless, the left-footed striker made his mark: first his dream goal against the Scots, then his direct corner kick to the crossbar and a confidently taken penalty against England. Shaqiri has scored at least one goal at every final tournament since the 2014 World Cup - no one else has managed that. And he is still a fan favorite - but he won't be satisfied.
