– Switzerland fights alone
The Nati is falling behind in the standings and is increasingly under threat of relegation to League B of this Nations League. It would take a miracle in the three return matches.
Published today at 10:50 p.m.
Serbia, October 12, 2024. Dan Ndoye, center, of Switzerland reacts after the UEFA Nations League Group A4 football match between Serbia and Switzerland at Dubocica Stadium, Leskovac, Serbia.
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Switzerland undoubtedly conceded one defeat too many to Leskovac. Beaten 2-0 by Serbia, they now need a small miracle to maintain their place among the sixteen best teams in the League of Nations. After the setbacks conceded to Denmark and Spain, this third defeat in a row places Switzerland in a very precarious situation. Last in their group, now 4 points behind Serbia, they will have to beat Denmark on Tuesday in St. Gall to maintain the hope of escaping direct relegation. The Danes ceded first place in the group to Spain, who beat them 1-0 in Murcia thanks to a success from Martin Zubimendi.
In Leskovac in an atmosphere more subdued than hostile even if the Swiss anthem was whistled and Granit Xhaka booed during his first touches of the ball, Switzerland almost fought alone. Nico Elvedi’s self-goal for the opener just before the break and Aleksandar Mitrovic’s almost improbable 2-0 clearly reflected the mistakes of a team which had lost its spark. Without forgetting the missed penalty from Breel Embolo, who was completely wrong on Saturday, in the 72nd minute which could have put her back on track.
Unhappy Elvedi
Despite unchallenged domination during the first twenty minutes and a golden opportunity for Breel Embolo in the 32nd minute, Switzerland was well behind at the break. The fault lies in fluctuations in concentration which cost Silvan Widmer and Elvedi yellow cards and led Michel Aebischer to commit an almost unnecessary fault which caused the 1-0 free kick. Kicked by Lazar Samardzic, he finished his race in the cage after an unfortunate deflection from Elvedi.
Sent off in Copenhagen, the Mönchengladbach defender is really having a difficult start to the season. Remaining on the bench throughout the Euro, he only owed his place in Leskovac to Denis Zakaria’s withdrawal. Struggling in the duels, he is indeed the weak link in a defense which definitely cannot offer the slightest clean sheet to Gregor Kobel. For his eighth selection, the Zurich goalkeeper once again picked up the ball in his net at least once. He will not soon stop suffering from the comparison with Yann Sommer.
Only one possibility
But at the restart, it was he who saved the 2-0 after an error from Manuel Akanji. Kobel could win his duel against Luka Jovic and allow Switzerland to stay in the match. With the introduction of Fabian Rieder for Silvan Widmer to give Dan Ndoye the role of right piston, Murat Yakin took a first step to breathe new life into the team. In the 54th minute, Switzerland in turn posed the danger with a shot from Xhaka repelled by Predrag Rajkovic at the feet of Ndoye who was however offside. This was the only possibility offered to the Swiss to come back to the level of the Serbs.
Already a scorer against Switzerland in 2018 in Kaliningrad and in 2022 in Doha, Aleksandar Mitrovic scored this time just after the hour mark with a magnificent goal. The former Fulham striker first recovered a ball that seemed lost on the left side to fix Akanji before unleashing an unstoppable strike. Rajkovic’s save on Embolo’s penalty in the 72nd minute undoubtedly made this revenge that the Serbs had been hoping for almost two years even more beautiful.
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