Football – Without an idea, Switzerland remains silent in Belfast

It is a lost advantage. Switzerland did not capitalize on Sunday’s draw against Italy. On Wednesday, in Northern Ireland, she again went 0-0 in a meeting where she was expected to be dominant and productive. If the domination was dawned, the production was not at the rendezvous. And that suggests that the national team will still have to work hard if they intend to go to Qatar for the World Cup next year.

This trip from Belfast, in an atmosphere which was worth the reputation of the British stadiums, was nevertheless a second test for Murat Yakin. After having experienced rather well his defensive reflections to neutralize Italy on Sunday, this time it was a question of bringing out his animation with the ball. Not surprisingly, Switzerland has been put to the test in this area. Faced with cautious Northern Irish, the national team had to find the solution, but they had no clue. Despite the alignment of Denis Zakaria and Remo Freuler in the middle, as well as the tenure of Ruben Vargas and Christian Fassnacht, the line drawn by Vladimir Petkovic had faded, and the offensive leaders were undeniably lacking.

In other words, it is a poor service that Switzerland has offerede. Of course, we detected certain intentions: the fact of building with a base of three (Rodriguez and the two exchanges), the right lane left to Widmer alone, while Fassnacht brought a presence inside, for example. But the resources and ideas to move the game forward were lacking.

Northern Ireland was patient, waiting for the right moment to speed up an exposed Swiss defense. It came close to working after nine minutes, when Manuel Akanji chose not to intervene on an aerial ball, leaving Shayne Lavery to go on goal alone. The good returns from Elvedi and Rodriguez made it too difficult for the North Irish striker to find the frame.

It was a very strong moment in this too monotonous meeting. The other was of course the missed penalty by Haris Seferovic. Yes, another one for the Swiss team and the change of fencer (after Rodriguez) did not bear fruit, while the sentence had fallen like an improbable gift. On a cross (too long) from Zakaria, Vargas was held back by Smith. A golden opportunity, but that the Swiss number 9 has overused without glory (33rd).

It is not yet time to make a mountain of regrets, but a hill all the same. Because Switzerland undeniably needed a helping hand to find the key. Murat Yakin did try to force his team’s fate, taking out a midfielder (Frei) to offer support to Seferovic (along with Zuber), but the national team didn’t have a player or system problem, but rather animation. That says a lot of the work that Yakin will still have to accomplish with his formation, who had used to never giving up points against small teams. Obviously, the comparison with Petkovic is significant on nights like this.