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- Switzerland had to admit defeat to Croatia 1: 2 in the friendly in St. Gallen.
- Mario Gavranovic shoots the national team to the head, Josip Brekalo and Mario Pasalic turn the game on the Croats.
- With the Swiss, four players make their national debut.
The crucial scene occurred in the 66th minute. Mario Pasalic gave Croatia a 2-1 lead and thus victory. As a result, the young Swiss team could no longer react. Among other things, this had to do with the many changes Vladimir Petkovic made.
Quartet with debut
In view of the tight schedule, Petkovic left several regular employees at the bank. With goalkeeper Jonas Omlin, defenders Becir Omeragic and Jordan Lotomba and midfielder Simon Sohm (from minute 64) 4 players made their debut for the national team.
At halftime, Petkovic switched to other veterans with Granit Xhaka, Ricardo Rodríguez and Admir Mehmedi. Due to the inexperience of the Swiss team, the second half had little meaning. For the coach, most should have liked what he saw before the break.
Gavranovic does it on the second try
After two first attempts by Rodríguez (8th) and Xhaka (11th), the Swiss should have taken the lead in the 23rd minute. Mario Gavranovic missed but his Dinamo Zagreb teammate Dominik Livakovic in the Croatian goal.
A little later, the Swiss forward did better: after a pass from Mehmedi, Xhaka crossed the middle to the middle, Gavranovic headed to make it 1-0. The leadership was deserved. The national team was the best team up to this point and they acted very compactly on defense.
Only afterwards did Croatia perform better and appear more aggressive. After a good chance from Bruno Petkovic, Josip Brekalo had 3 minutes until half-time, scoring a volley worth seeing to equalize.
In the second half, Switzerland’s chances were rare. Shortly after the restart, Lotomba could have crowned her debut. The Nice player missed twice. In the finals, substitute Cedric Itten put a conclusion on the gate. The Croats weren’t absolutely necessary either, but thanks to Pasalic they seized their best chance of winning.
Against Spain on Saturday
For Switzerland, the next game is scheduled on Saturday. In the Nations League, Petkovic’s team faces Spain away from home. Manuel Akanji, who tested positive for the corona virus, will not be there. The guest appearance in Germany follows on Tuesday and thus the third game within 7 days.
