The Swiss coach, Murat Yakin, lamented the lack of audacity of his players in attack, in the 1-0 defeat by Brazil, this Monday (28), by group G of the World Cup in Qatar-2022.
“For a while the strategy for this match worked. We had good control of the game, we ran well and covered good distances. But this result is sad for us, our players lacked offensive audacity,” Yakin said at his post-match press conference. match at stadium 974 in Doha.
“We have to congratulate Brazil for the victory, but I think that with a few more chances we could have conquered more. I can’t blame the team, they did a good job and held the opponent, but we should have risked more in attack. We had very good moments, mainly in some centers, and I think we could have played higher and with more depth”, scored.
“In our defensive game we played a good game in terms of situation. They were well organized on the wings and intercepted many long passes”, he analyzed.
About the absence of Xherdan Shaqiri, Murat Yakin explained that it was due to a thigh injury.
“We did tests. He wasn’t 100% ready for this game and we didn’t want to risk it. Of course we missed him on the field”, he said.
With three points, Switzerland are second, with a point of advantage over Serbia, third with two. In the last round, the two teams, whose duel at the 2018 World Cup generated political tensions, will face each other in order to avoid elimination.
“We’re well prepared. I think it’s important to keep our strength. We’re going to focus on the sporting aspect, the rest doesn’t interest me (…) Of course we’re going to try to win the game. We’re capable of doing it”, he said.
Swiss defender Michel Aebischer considered, for his part, that his team “defended well, except in goal”.
“We’ve been defending well, but we also have to improve in attack, that’s clear. The objective was to defend well and attack on the counterattack, create chances and make it difficult for them in defense because they like to go up. We defend well, but we allow many opportunities for them”, he consoled himself.
Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka felt his team deserved a draw, which came close to being achieved.
“We wouldn’t have stolen anything with a draw. We would have been satisfied with a point, but that’s football. We played a good game against Brazil, which is very, very strong,” said the Arsenal player.
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