The scene of the game
In the 55th minute, the Australians undermined the entire Swiss defense with a long ball. Three Australians ran towards Kobel practically alone after Silvan Widmer canceled the offside. In front of the goal, Connor Metcalfe crossed for Tete Yengi, who effortlessly slotted in to make it 1-1.
The key figure
Granit Xhaka. In the first half, his pass to Dan Ndoye to make it 1-0 is almost worth the price of admission. After that, Xhaka’s performance levels off a bit. In the second half, the Nati captain was a little annoyed when former GC player Nestory Irankunda unnecessarily sent a ball to his backside and went unpunished for it.
The better team
The national team was clearly superior to the Australians in the first half, without really pushing themselves to the limit. After the break, the Nati engine stalled significantly. Switzerland acted without ideas for long stretches of the second half and therefore doesn’t have to complain about missing out on a win.
The twittering from the stands
Only around 6,000 fans watched the national team’s last World Cup test in the Snapdragon Stadium (capacity: 35,000 spectators). The setting was special. It was almost as quiet in the San Diego football arena as in a library – you could even hear the players’ shouts from the stands.
The gates
30′ I 1:0 I Xhaka launches his fellow Soieler Ndoye with an outstanding pass. Alone in front of Beach, he doesn’t have to be asked twice and goes cold turkey.
55′ I 1:1 I A long ball is needed to overcome the Swiss defense. Metcalfe passes over to Yengi, who slides in to equalize.
The voices
Zeki Amdouni (Switzerland, opposite SRF): «I think it was a good game, but a pretty close and even one because the opponent was very deep. We had a few chances, especially in the first half. Dan also had several opportunities to score. Maybe we should have scored one or two more goals. But it was a preparatory game and the most important thing is next week.”
Johan Manzambi (Switzerland): «You have to say that they also did well. At the beginning we had the ball more often, but then they played well. We have to accept that. Sometimes football is like that. We just have to keep going.”
Granit Xhaka (Switzerland): «I think it was a typical game before the competition. We have to score four goals in the first half. In football it’s like this once again: If you don’t do it at the front, you get it at the back. But we are in the preparation phase and still have a good seven or eight days until the opening game and will certainly analyze, see what we need to do better and everything else will come.
«There are things that weren’t good this week and then you act like that. I learned that you can’t say too much. That’s why I’m keeping this to myself for now. It was a test match. You could feel that. But it will definitely be difficult.”
Murat Yakin (Switzerland): «We played a good game in the first 20 minutes. Lots of chances to score. Could have been a little more efficient. After that we had some playback errors. Some technical errors that we used to build up the opponent. But we’ll definitely have to look at that and improve it next week. But in the end we made two changes during the break. We have taken change in the statics. From that point of view, everything is on schedule.”
This is how it continues
The national team will now continue to prepare for the World Cup in San Diego over the next few days. Things will get serious next Saturday when the first preliminary round game against Qatar takes place in San Francisco.
