Granit Xhaka, Ricardo Rodriguez and their teammates foundered in Leskovac. Image: KEYSTONE
The Swiss team lost 2-0 against the Serbs in Leskovac in the Nations League. With three defeats in three matches, they are last in their group and must now hope for a miracle to avoid being relegated.
12.10.2024, 22:3912.10.2024, 23:53
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.
Nico Elvedi (right) was not inspired in Leskovac. Image: keystone
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.
Swings of concentration
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.
The group ranking
image: txt
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 cleanout 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.
No incidents linked to Granit Xhaka
This meeting in Serbia raised fears of problems linked to the Kosovar origins of the Nati captain, Granit Xhaka. As a reminder, incidents on the pitch took place during the two previous matches between Switzerland and Serbia, in 2018 and 2022. This time, there were none. We even attended a nice hug between Xhaka and the Serbian coach, Dragan Stojkovic, at the end of the match.
A alone 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, just 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 this time hit the nail on the head 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.
Aleksandar Mitrovic (right) hurt the Nati. Image: keystone
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. (ats/yog)
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