“We didn’t make that big of a mistake. If it had fallen on another Swiss player, it might not even have had any impact. Bad luck for us, it was Xherdan Shaqiri.” Steve Clarke, the Scottish coach, had a good blow after the draw (1-1) obtained against Switzerland on Wednesday, knowing that his team had been slapped 5-1 by Germany in the opening of the Euro. In his relief, the technician did not forget to tip his hat to Xherdan Shaqiri. The man of big tournaments.
“I don’t know how many other players in the world could have scored the goal he scored,” complimented his teammate, Manuel Akanji. In reference, obviously, to the equalization found in a crazy inspiration by “Shaq”.
Obviously, the Swiss want to hold on to this event. Since he is by far the most positive of the evening. In addition obviously to this big additional step taken towards the round of 16. “Shaq has proven what he is capable of. He lives for moments like tonight. He deserves them. It’s an incredible shot. It was the only thing to do. And he did it wonderfully,” praised Murat Yakin.
The coach did not just talk about the positives. Well seen, knowing that the Swiss public clearly noticed the overall poverty of the day’s performance. “The match was a bit of a roller coaster. At times, we dominated. At others, it was Scotland’s turn. Because we had to equalize, we spent more energy than expected. We encountered difficulties in creating the game,” admitted the technician.
“Scotland gave us a hard time, but we took a big step towards qualifying. We showed that we were ready to fight. We still have one group match to play, against a Germany who produce incredible football. It will be a very different meeting from today. We look forward!”
