Xhaka criticizes Switzerland coach Yakin: “There was no rhythm in training”

After Switzerland’s draw against Kosovo

Captain Granit Xhaka sharply criticized the preparation for the game after the Swiss national team’s disappointing 2-2 draw in Kosovo. “The way we played today is what the whole week looked like. You can’t go from zero to one hundred,” said the new signing from Bayer Leverkusen after the final whistle of his 115th international match. “It looked like we were playing a friendly here or in the park. Unfortunately, that doesn’t work.”

In the European Championship qualifying game, the Swiss gave up what they thought was a certain victory after conceding a goal in stoppage time – just like in the previous game against Romania (2:2). According to Xhaka, the main reason for this is poor training performance. “You can’t – if you don’t do that much all week and aren’t focused – invent a new rhythm,” said the 30-year-old: “I personally can’t do that and I don’t think any player in the world can either.”

When asked about his captain’s statements, national coach Murat Yakin defended himself: “We trained as usual, everything was under control.” He wanted to “discuss in private” with Xhaka and find out “what the idea behind his statements is.” Yakin has been in office since August 2021 and averaged 1.68 points per game in 25 games. In Qualifying Group I, Switzerland is in first place after five games with eleven points ahead of Romania (9) and Israel (8) – Kosovo (4) and Belarus (4) only have a slim chance of getting a European Championship ticket.

Xhaka admitted that he was still holding back his criticism. He was “a little more pissed off than usual – and rightly so.” He tries “not to find too bad words,” because: “Then it will backfire.” It is “lucky” that Switzerland is playing at home on Tuesday against outsiders Andorra “and not against a bigger nation.” He ended that interview with the words: “There was no rhythm in training, there was no tempo in training and that’s how we played.”

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