The time has come on Saturday at 18:00: Switzerland will face England in the European Championship quarter-finals in Düsseldorf. Nati coach Murat Yakin is confident the day before the big clash.
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- On Saturday at 6 p.m., the Swiss national team will face England in the European Championship quarter-final.
- On the day before the match of the year, Murat Yakin appears before the media one last time and appears confident. Fabian Schär is also optimistic.
The Nati can plan for the European Championship quarter-final against England on Saturday (18:00) in Düsseldorf with captain Granit Xhaka. The 31-year-old has overcome his adductor complaints and took part in the last team training session in Stuttgart on Friday without any noticeable problems. "He trained with the team. He is fit. I'm counting on him 100 percent. He will play," confirmed Yakin.
However, attacker Noah Okafor was absent due to back pain. But Yakin has no personnel worries for the game in the Düsseldorf Arena. "I'm in the fortunate situation that everyone is on board."
After Switzerland's strong performances so far, Yakin is approaching the task against the million-strong star ensemble from England with confidence. "Why shouldn't we also pose problems for England and make the game? We are in good shape and have self-confidence," said Yakin. Another win would see Switzerland reach a European Championship semi-final for the first time. "We're really looking forward to this moment," said the 49-year-old.
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Liveticker
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Liveticker closed
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The press conference is over
That's it. The media conference is over.
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Yakin on the Italy victory
"We caught them at a good moment. Of course we enjoyed the moment. We also saw how our country celebrated. We live for moments like that and we're very grateful for them."
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Schär on the English and Harry Kane
"It's not just about stopping him," said Schär when asked about his previous games against the England captain. "The English have an incredible amount of quality. But we've defended very well as a team so far, very compact and solid. The same will apply tomorrow."
However, Schär does not know what the mood is like in England ahead of the game against Switzerland, or whether the rumors that England will play with a 3-man defense on Saturday could be true. "I haven't had much contact with my contacts in England in the last few days. At the end of the day, they're in the quarter-finals regardless of how they've played. Nobody will be interested tomorrow in how they played beforehand or in the group stage. They have so much quality that they can hurt any team. And we have to be prepared for that. Of course it's possible that they'll switch from a back four to a back three. But we'll focus on our strengths."
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Yakin on Xhaka
"He's fit and I'm fully counting on him," Yakin clarified when asked about Xhaka's fitness.
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No clues about the starting line-up
When asked about the line-up against England, Yakin is naturally not giving any clues.
"We've shown good games, we've been able to upset big opponents. I'll put the players on the pitch who are in good form and can play in combination with the system," said Yakin - and continued: "We have seven goalscorers in our ranks. That shows that our collective is excellent - as is the atmosphere."
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Yakin is positive
"We're in good shape and have a lot of self-confidence. We are ready to upset big teams. We won against the European champions and played well against the hosts. So why not pose problems for big England and play the game and then see what comes out of it?"
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Xhaka back in team training
Granit Xhaka was also back at the last training session in Stuttgart. He took part in the full team training session. The national team captain had been struggling with adductor problems during the week. However, his participation in the England game was never in danger.
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The Nati moves to Düsseldorf
Friday was the last training session at the Waldau Stadium for the time being. Afterwards, the team flew from Stuttgart to Düsseldorf in the afternoon. There, a visit to the stadium was on the agenda first, followed by the media conference with Murat Yakin and Fabian Schär at 5.45 pm.
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Hello...
... and welcome to the live ticker of the Nati-PK on the day before the big England game. Will Murat Yakin let us take a look at his cards ahead of the coaching duel against Gareth Southgate? Watch it live here.
