The Swiss FA confirmed that he would not take part in the remainder of the national team’s training camp, allowing the squad to keep its full attention on the upcoming Nations League fixtures.
Switzerland responded impressively on Saturday evening, with Remo Freuler scoring the opening goal in Embolo’s absence and ending an international drought of almost two years.
When asked about Xhaka, the 34-year-old, who moved to Olympiacos this summer, said: “There is little to add about Granit because he is simply irreplaceable. The entire team must work together to compensate for his absence.
“We managed that extremely well against North Macedonia. Hopefully, we can maintain this level until Granit returns.
“Several new players were involved and each of them performed strongly. From our perspective, it was close to an ideal match.”
The dominant Swiss side needed only 22 minutes to move ahead. Zeki Amdouni headed the ball into Freuler’s path, allowing him to drive a low 15-yard finish into the corner.
Burnley midfielder Amdouni then added two similar goals of his own, scoring three minutes before the interval and again with slightly more than 15 minutes remaining. Goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski, however, could have dealt more effectively with the first effort.
Both goals were created by Zachary Athekame, as the 21-year-old right-back, currently on loan at Lyon from AC Milan, delivered an outstanding debut performance.
Parma defender Sascha Britschgi and Sion forward Winsley Boteli also made their first senior appearances after coming off the bench, while Milan midfielder Ardon Jashari took charge in the center of the pitch in Xhaka’s absence.
Switzerland have suffered only one defeat in their past 10 matches, a 3-1 extra-time loss to Argentina in the World Cup quarter-finals, leaving head coach Murat Yakin highly satisfied with the team’s form.
“Our performance in the opening half was excellent,” he said. “We registered 17 attempts compared with only one from our opponents.
“Pressing opponents is one of our greatest strengths, and it played a major role in our successful World Cup campaign.
“That approach proved effective once more against North Macedonia.
“Our level dropped after the break, allowing them to become more involved and produce a few opportunities, but none posed a serious threat.”
Switzerland finished the match with 22 attempts, including 13 on target, while the hosts managed only two efforts and failed to test the goalkeeper with either of them.
“We concentrated on preparing the players available to us,” Yakin added. “We never made excuses, because an absence always gives somebody else the chance to step forward.”
What do you feel about this post?
Like
Love
Happy
Haha
Sad
