In the World Cup qualifiers, Switzerland will face Italy. The team in Basel has fond memories of the European champions.
Legend:
Cheers in «Joggeli»
The Swiss national team defeated Portugal, the then European champions, in September 2016.
Keystone
Switzerland vs. Italy – This duel has a history. Neighbors have already met 60 times: the national team has not played much against any other team.
However, from a Swiss point of view, only 8 victories were visible. The White Reds were also waiting for a victory over the “Squadra Azzurra” in 8 duels. The last time this was achieved was in Bern in 1993, as well as in qualifying for the World Cup (1-0).
Yakin on the Hüssy . Trail
After his first victory in the Test against Greece (2-1), Murat Yakin wanted to achieve something historic: Rene Hassi was the last to win his first two matches as new coach in 1973, but without first-class opponents (1-0 against Scotland and 1-0 against Luxembourg).
Employee concerns in Switzerland
Yakin, a skilled tactician, could not work out the details before the duel with Italy. Instead of tactical tricks, Yakin studied the performance data of players these days. Who has the experience to stop the Italians? Who is in the rhythm and has the quality to keep up with the European champions?
Yakin has to pull the answers out of his hat instead of presenting them to him on a silver platter. Because staffing levels have been weakened by the failures of regular employees Granit Xhaka, Remo Freuler, Xherdan Shaqiri and Breel Embolo. In addition, Joker misses Mario Gavranovic in attack and midfielder Haris Seferovic hardly does any match training.
Against Italy, Switzerland weakened in terms of personnel because it had not been in a competitive game for a long time. It should be Denis Zakaria, Gabriel Sue, Renato Stephen and Ruben Vargas to replace the eminent quartet.
The strength of the homeland as a trump card
Yakin can count on the current exceptional strength of his team at home on Sunday in Basel. The Swiss are undefeated at home in 19 matches (15 wins, 4 draws). The last competitive defeat at home dates back to September 2014 at the premiere under Vladimir Petkovic (0:2 against England in the European Championship qualifier). A potential sixth home win in this calendar year would be a record for the national team.
Different Similarities to 5 years ago
However, Italy also has a more impressive streak: the southern Europeans are unbeaten in 35 international matches (27 wins, 8 draws). In doing so, they equaled the European record for the Spain men’s national team (2007-2009). The world record now looms against Switzerland – held by Brazil (between 1993 and 1996).
Five years ago, in September after the European Championship, Switzerland competed against the newly crowned European champions – also in Basel and also in the World Cup qualifiers. Nati beat Portugal 2-0 at the time…
World Cup Qualifiers Results