Yakin "renovates" the team This is why Steffen and Widmer are not with the Nati despite the long injury list
Switzerland have many absentees ahead of the crucial Nations League games, but Murat Yakin has decided to do without long-serving Nati players such as Renato Steffen and Silvan Widmer. Nati director Pierluigi Tami explains Yakin's plans at the meeting.
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- Switzerland are fighting against relegation in the Nations League. Points are needed against Serbia in Zurich (November 15) and the away game against Spain (November 18).
- However, the Nati are missing several regular players such as Manuel Akanji, Ruben Vargas and Dan Ndoye. Murat Yakin wants to use the situation to give young players a (second) chance, explains Nati director Pierluigi Tami.
- It will be interesting to see how Yakin plans in central defense, where two players could make their senior debut.
When the Swiss national team arrived at the luxury Dolder Hotel on Monday afternoon, four of the 26 players Murat Yakin had called up for the last two Nations League games against Serbia and Spain were missing. Manuel Akanji, Dan Ndoye, Denis Zakaria and Pascal Loretz have been forced to withdraw due to injury.
Compared to the line-up in October, Nico Elvedi, Becir Omeragic and Michel Aebischer are also missing through injury. Ruben Vargas, Leonidas Stergiou and Gregory Wüthrich have been out for some time - Loris Benito (adductor problems) and Luca Jaquez (suspended), who Yakin would have liked to nominate, are also out.
Of the outfield players, only Ulisses Garcia will be called up. Despite the long list of absentees, Yakin is somewhat surprisingly without the in-form Renato Steffen. Even after the last-minute withdrawal of Dan Ndoye, there is no place in the squad for the Lugano professional. "Sometimes it's better not to say anything," said Steffen tellingly on Sunday when asked by blue Sport about his omission.
Second chance for Okafor, Kutesa and Co.
Can Pierluigi Tami say anything about this? "Yakin wants to give younger players a chance," said the national team director when asked about Steffen's absence. The coach is in the process of "renovating" the team, according to Tami. The 49-time international Silvan Widmer and Cédric Zesiger, who has almost always been in the squad since the start of 2023, are also missing from the squad.
This time, others will get a chance. Miro Muheim is included for the first time ever. Players such as Dereck Kutesa, Aurèle Amenda, Kevin Mbabu, Albian Hajdari, Ardon Jashari, Noah Okafor and Simon Sohm have already been with the national team, but have not yet played any part at all in this Nations League campaign.
They will get "a second chance", says the national team director. The aim after the European Championship was to build a new team. "We wanted to get to know new players, they could and can present themselves in these games. That's fantastic for them."
Big question mark in the defense
There will definitely be changes in central defense in particular. Forced to do so because regular central defenders Akanji and Elvedi are both out injured. Amenda (0 caps), Hajdari (0) and Eray Cömert (15) are now the only nominal central defenders in the squad, with Ricardo Rodriguez and Edimilson Fernandes also possible options depending on the system.
"Yakin will consider in the first training session which combination and system we can play in defense," says Tami. The situation is "not easy", but the 63-year-old is still optimistic about the upcoming games against Serbia and Spain.
After all, it is not the first time that Murat Yakin's team has been confronted with a large number of absentees. Tami remembers the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup, when the national team was also missing numerous regular players. "We played against Italy and Bulgaria and our team really wanted to put in a good performance - and they did. For that to happen again this time, the players need to feel confident."
The goal is still to stay in the Nations League A. "It will be difficult, but it's certainly still possible," says Tami. To achieve this, a win against Serbia on Friday is absolutely essential, otherwise relegation to Nations League B will be a foregone conclusion before the final match next Monday in Spain.
