Nati coach after relegation Yakin quarrels with the referee and is annoyed about missed goal chances
The Nati are relegated from the Nations League. Coach Murat Yakin is once again at odds with the referee, but is particularly annoyed about the poor exploitation of chances. Nevertheless, he is satisfied with his team's performance - and even has extra praise for Aurèle Amenda.
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- After Switzerland's 1:1 draw against Serbia in the Nations League, Murat Yakin is primarily annoyed about his team's inefficiency and not about the late goal conceded or his first relegation.
- The national team coach also defended the team by mentioning their lack of experience. After all, some players withdrew after the European Championships and others were injured against Serbia.
- What's more, Switzerland had to deal with many controversial refereeing decisions in the Nations League.
Over and out! After the 1:1 draw against Serbia, the Nati are relegated and will play in League B in the next Nations League campaign. Monday's game against Spain in Tenerife (8.45pm) is now just a test match.
It's 11.38pm when Murat Yakin faces the media in the belly of the Letzigrund Stadium. Did they end up taking too many risks? Yakin explains that they "lost total organization" at 1-1: "We had seven players in the box, so we lacked a bit of experience."
Overall, however, he believes the problem was not the goal conceded, but the efficiency in front of the opponent's box: "We had a lot of actions in front of goal. Unfortunately, we were unlucky with our finishing. We need to talk more about the chances we took than the goal we conceded."
Yakin has now been relegated for the first time as coach. "I'm disappointed, just like the players are disappointed. We can't change that and we can't sugarcoat it. But we were always well in the game in every match except Serbia. There were changes after the European Championship, players resigned. At some point you have experiences that aren't positive."
In addition, Yakin makes it clear that a red card could also have been discussed. He refers to a situation when Terzic, who later scored, hit Amdouni with an open sole in the 25th minute. "But we're done with the quibbling about decisions, even if it was too much in this campaign," Yakin said unequivocally.
Yakin gently criticizes Okafor and praises Amenda
The national team coach said: "We deserved to win with the way we played. It hurts me for the team and for the spectators who cheered us on".
Yakin is also asked about Noah Okafor, whom he criticized harshly in public after the European Championship and punished with non-nominations. After clarifying talks, the Milan striker was allowed to start against Serbia, but missed a hundred percent chance. "He wanted to do too well. He sometimes lacks rhythm. If he only plays an average of six minutes at Milan, that's not enough," analyzed Yakin, adding: "I liked what I saw of him in training. He could have scored a goal, that would have been fantastic."
On the other hand, Yakin implicitly emphasized the good performance of Aurèle Amenda, who played his first game for the senior national team and hardly got a chance at Frankfurt: "He was a bright spot. His performance was great, he actually did everything right."
The national team still can't get going at the Letzigrund
The national team's matches at the Letzigrund
- October 13, 2007: Switzerland-Austria 3:1 (test match)
- November 20, 2007: Switzerland-Nigeria 0:1 (test match)
- September 10, 2008: Switzerland-Luxembourg 1:2 (World Cup qualifier)
- March 31, 2015: Switzerland-USA 1:1 (test match)
- March 29, 2016: Switzerland-Bosnia-Herzegovina 0:2 (test match)
- March 29, 2022: Switzerland-Kosovo 1:1 (test match)
