Kosovo becomes a game of nerves – with Shaqiri, the anger seems to have disappeared

In their second to last European Championship qualifying game, coach Murat Yakin’s team has the next opportunity to secure their next tournament participation. But things could get tricky in Basel: The opponent Kosovo will have many fans in the stadium.

Final training in Basel: “We’re having fun,” says trainer Murat Yakin about the mood.

Georgios Kefalas / Keystone

“We are first in the group, we have two games left and everything is in our hands: so what is the problem?” That was the tenor late on Friday afternoon in the media room at Basel’s St. Jakob Park when Swiss coach Murat Yakin and player Xherdan Shaqiri answered journalists’ questions the day before the European Championship qualifying match against Kosovo. It’s like there are no rumblings in and around the team.

The starting position for Saturday evening looks like this: If the Swiss win, they will qualify directly for the European Championships. In the event of a draw, this would be the case if Israel did not win against Romania at the same time. If the Swiss lose and Israel win, there would be a showdown between Romania and Switzerland in a direct duel in Bucharest on Tuesday and with Israel competing in Andorra. It’s an unlikely but possible scenario. For Yakin and his team, the improbable is also possible in these weeks.

“I don’t know the headlines,” says the coach. After the bloodless performances with four draws, the NZZ was not the only one to raise doubts about Yakin’s future as national coach. His view of the latest performances looks like this on Friday: “We enjoy football, the team has a good atmosphere, I see the many scoring opportunities that we create.” Yakin also has this message ready for the media: “I have very little interest in what you make of it.”

Shaqiri uses a saying: “In Switzerland they say: ‘Deliver, not leave’.”

Shaqiri sits next to Yakin. The 117-time national player was pretty angry on Wednesday after the 1-1 draw against Israel because Yakin didn’t even substitute him in the final phase when the Swiss needed his impetus on the offensive. While Israel’s coach substituted goalscorer Weissman, Yakin didn’t want to think of the obvious. Why? “Ask the coach,” said Shaqiri.

Meanwhile, Shaqiri is in a good mood again. “Everything is fine again,” he says. It could well be that something other than his role as a substitute had been decided before the game against Israel, but he accepted “the tactical decision”. He and the team noticed the criticism of the coach, but that didn’t really interest him or the team. “In Switzerland they say: ‘Deliver, not leave’.” As always, Shaqiri is friendly and cheerful when he’s looking forward to a big game.

“I don’t know the headlines”: Murat Yakin (l.) on the criticism of his work.

Georgios Kefalas / Keystone

The match against Kosovo is such a game for Shaqiri. This is also why Yakin said before the move together that it had been discussed with Shaqiri that he would not play against Israel from the start. Almost in the same breath, Yakin claimed that he was only interested in the next game against Israel in order to “close the bag”. The message to Shaqiri could be interpreted as follows: “I don’t need you for the early European Championship qualification, look forward to your performance against Kosovo!” The affair against Kosovo should have provided the setting for a nice celebration for Shaqiri. It turned out differently.

With Wednesday’s miserable 1-1 draw, the signs have changed: the Swiss will not qualify for the European Championships if they host Kosovo’s team in the sold-out St. Jakob Park. The audience, the majority of whom have a Kosovar background, cannot simply celebrate, regardless of the result, because it would only have marginal meaning.

Now the record players Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Instead, they have to deliver, there’s a nervous game waiting, there’s pressure on the kettle. Against her parents’ home country, of all places in Basel, where they both grew up and started their careers. A lot is once again building up about Shaqiri and Xhaka.

“It’s definitely a very special game,” says Shaqiri, “I want to crown this beautiful day with qualification.” He also has a message for the media: “Then you can write nicer things about us again and have a quieter time.”

What may apply to the media and the players from Shaqiri’s perspective applies less to Yakin. After next Tuesday’s match in Bucharest at the latest, the association’s leadership will be struggling to find an answer to the question of whether they want to continue with their coach in the European Championship year. Outwardly, Yakin didn’t seem as worn out on Friday as he did after the Israel game, when his attempts to explain the completely unsuccessful second half sounded like how his team played: without energy, erratic, imprecise and grumpy.

Even qualifying for the European Championships will not be able to eliminate the discomfort

It was only two years ago when Yakin enchanted Switzerland as the new national coach. He came for Vladimir Petkovic, who remained a stranger to the Swiss audience even in his greatest success with the victory in the European Championship round of 16 against world champions France. Yakin, on the other hand, walked into the trainer’s chair like an old acquaintance, his hand loosely in the pocket of his tracksuit.

Granit Xhaka is injured in autumn 2021. Easy, no problem: Fabian Frei can do it too. The two draws against European champions Italy are the basis for direct World Cup qualification. She puts Yakin on the pedestal with the 4-0 win against Bulgaria. It was a debut that had been familiar for a long time: things always go well for coach Yakin in the beginning. Players, media and fans are amazed at his magical skills – but after a few months, everyday life sets in. It will be a bit boring and tough like in the Nations League, then difficult like the 1:6 against Portugal in the World Cup round of 16. Eventually things get bad-tempered, like at the end of Yakin’s time as a club coach in Lucerne, Basel or with the Grasshoppers.

Now it’s that time again with Yakin, in the national team. There is unhappiness between the coach and the players. It’s exemplary how things always crackle between Yakin and his captain Granit Xhaka. And even a win against Kosovo and the next qualification for a final tournament will not be able to eliminate the discomfort.