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- The Swiss team loses the friendly against Belgium in Leuven 1: 2.
- The SFV selection gives a 1-0 runaway lead.
- This means that the national team remains in the sixth game in 2020 without a total success.
In the end, the Swiss were again empty-handed. Despite a respectable performance in the first half, Vladimir Petkovic’s team had to bow to the world No. 1 in the FIFA rankings.
Dream start to Belgium-Bock
Everything started as desired. The fact that Petkovic had changed the starting eleven to 7 places compared to the last international match (3: 3 against Germany) was not reflected in any way in the team’s vote. The Swiss started with vigor, dominated the duels and was already able to cheer in the 12th minute:
- Fabian Schär shoves a ball deep into the opponent’s half, where Belgian defender Sebastiaan Bornauw made a complete mistake trying to clear the head. Admir Mehmedi accepts the gift and uses a plane of full tension in the right corner.
The 1-0 flattered to the Belgians, especially as Mehmedi (27th) and Steven Zuber (42nd / 45th) were unable to seize several promising opportunities for the second Swiss goal. Instead, after the break, the Belgians marked the child as the virgin. Michy Batshuayi converted a great pass from Loris Benito in 1: 1 on the base of Youri Tielemans.
The problem: inefficiency
After the draw, the “Red Devils” were able to radiate much more danger in front of Yvon Mvogo’s area, but the Swiss also had their chances. Ruben Vargas (52nd), Silvan Widmer (63rd) and Schär (68th) left them out. And again the inefficiency took its toll.
While in 1: 1 Benito had done it wrong, in 2: 1 Batshuayis was the entire defensive line. The forward knew how to calmly take a Thomas Foket template from the air, turn on his own axis and shoot from about 8 meters.
Then the Swiss began to run without the necessary vehemence. It also had to do with the fact that Granit Xhaka was replaced at halftime. The Arsenal mercenary was the lynchpin in midfield and left a great void.
So it goes
On Saturday (against Spain) and Tuesday (against Ukraine) the last 2 matches of the Nations League group stage will be played. Points are urgently needed if you don’t want to be relegated from League A.
