"It wasn't the fault of the system, the players weren't good"

1/10

One day after the 6-1 defeat, national team coach Murat Yakin answered media questions.

Stephane Henchoz (72 caps for Switzerland)

“Like the players, Yakin surprised me with his system change. Of course, Widmer’s absence was serious. But you knew before the tournament when you were nominated that it would be a problem if Widmer or Rodriguez got injured when he didn’t take a substitute. But I also want to say that at the beginning of the game there was no problem with Portugal, even in the new system. If you then analyze the first goals conceded, Schär is just too far away. The second was a corner kick. It wasn’t the system’s fault. And then when you switched to a back four, you conceded four goals in the second half. I don’t agree to fault the system or Yakin. That’s too easy. It was the players who weren’t good.”

Johan Djourou (76 caps for Switzerland)

“The frustration comes from the gap between the result and the ambition of the players. The expectations were disappointed. As for Yakin’s tactics, he made a brave decision that didn’t work. The team has lost its bearings. It was difficult to find solutions, also in defensive cohesion, which was a strength of the team. I agree with Shaqiri’s comment. It’s normal for the team to be surprised by this change. I’ve experienced it myself as a player, you train a little in a system and then have to use it at the last second. The team showed no flexibility against Cameroon, they always played with a four-man defence. It’s complicated to change this for the knockout round where the level keeps rising. It is still hasty to question the coach.”

Markus Babel (European Champion 1996 with Germany)

“In terms of the result, Yakin gambled. But no matter which system you play as a coach, if the players don’t fill the system with life, things go wrong. If the players had shown the same mentality as they did against Serbia or Brazil, the game would have been open. It seemed to me that the players had used up their commitment. That’s incomprehensible to me.”

Looking for errors in the system: “The statements of the players bothered me”(10:02 a.m)

Hakan Yakin (87 caps for Switzerland)

“Muri made two changes compared to the initial win against Cameroon. Edimilson played on the right for the ailing Widmer and Schär for Elvedi in central defense as Elvedi has been ill for the past few days. In my opinion, starting a big system discussion is far too easy: First, the first two goals conceded came after a throw-in and a corner kick. It has nothing to do with the system, it was just poorly defended. I also saw a national team that was never up to par in this round of 16. The Portuguese were much better, showed more determination and even ran ten kilometers more. That actually says it all. The 1:6 is brutal, but deserved at this level. But of course Muri will now think about it and analyze how this slap could come about. »

David da Costa (ex-FCZ goalie and Blick-Kick expert)

“I think it wasn’t a tactical issue. The Swiss have all had a bad day together. And what you shouldn’t forget with all the analyzes: Portugal just did it really well. I can’t remember the last time I saw the Portuguese so strong. That is quite something! As a Portuguese-Swiss, I actually watch every international match.”

Georges Bregy (Ex-Nati player)

“It was obvious that the players didn’t internalize the three-man defense as much as the four-man defense. A player like Steffen on the right back would certainly not have been wrong. But the really big problem was that the players weren’t mentally ready for this game. The game against Serbia seems to have left more marks than you wanted to see.”