Keystone
True to his legend, the Nati coach had reserved a surprise for the 8th final of the Euro against Italy (2-0): the starting of Dan Ndoye as right piston. A tactical move thought out well before Saturday.
After having played the four friendlies before this Euro as a left piston and having occupied the attacking flank during the three matches of the group stage, Dan Ndoye had to close the right flank against the Transalpines. The Vaudois was preferred to Leonidas Stergiou to replace Silvan Widmer, suspended, and he did perfectly.
Ndoye certainly needed a few minutes to enter the match, but he became more and more noticed after the half hour, to the point of actively participating in the action which led to the opening score.
The new right piston from Switzerland owes this good performance to his qualities, but also to the confidence of his coach, who was able to put him in the best possible condition during training. “The coach made me work all week so that I was ready”, revealed Dan Ndoye after the game, happy with the turn of events. “The feeling is magnificent. We had the right match. The whole team did the work, it’s magical. Vargas’ goal, what a shot he puts in. We deserve this victory, we have a magnificent atmosphere, everything is going well.”
“I’m very proud of the organization of the team, the way we scored at the right times. Flexibility, control, intelligence: we showed great mastery in this part“, Murat Yakin stressed for his part.
If Fabian Rieder also praised the virtues of the collective (“the automatisms were perfect, we were in good harmony defensively and offensively”), Manuel Akanji wanted to thank the many supporters who made a lot of noise on Saturday in the stands of the Berlin Olympic Stadium.
Keystone
“The support has been there since the first game and we feel it on the pitch,” the defender paid tribute. “We try to give everything back to the fans. We had another great performance against Italy and we deserved to go through. Of course, they had more possession in the second half, but apart from a few misunderstandings, we didn’t let much slip.”
The Nati will again be accompanied by a large colony of fans next Saturday for their quarter-final. It will be in Düsseldorf, against the winner of the game between England and Slovenia.
(jcz/ats)
More articles about sport
Show all articles
A miniature Euro-Mir
Video: watson
This might also interest you:
The rush for the seeds for this round of 16 of the Euro on Saturday in Berlin (6:00 p.m.) has begun. We explain how and at what price you can get it.
The Nati fans created a magnificent atmosphere on Sunday in Frankfurt against Germany (1-1). We hope to experience the same atmosphere again on Saturday in the 8th final against Italy (18:00) in Berlin. And there is a good chance, because the Swiss supporters will arrive in mass in the German capital.
