The harmless Swiss are defeated by Spain 0: 1

Switzerland loses the League of Nations match in Madrid against Spain 0-1. After half the workload, he’s at the bottom of the table with just one point from three games and now he’s playing relegation.

The hosts scored the only goal of the match in the 14th minute through Mikel Oyarzabal of Real Sociedad San Sebastián after an error by the Swiss defense. The victory of the host was deserved, since the Spanish had a clear increase of possibilities. The guests performed well, but, like so many times, they struggled on the offensive.

For the SFV team, it was the first loss to Spain since a 3-0 defeat at the 1994 World Cup in the United States. In 2010 they beat eventual world champions 1-0 in the preliminary round of the World Cup in South Africa, and in 2018 they scored 1-1 in a test match prior to the World Cup in Russia.

Recent false last summer

At first, the Swiss had been put in reserve at the empty Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium, which is not far from Barajas International Airport. After a quarter of an hour they tried to combine after a kick from behind, which failed completely. A poor pass from goalkeeper Yann Sommer to Granit Xhaka, who slipped, ensured that the Spaniards were rewarded for their early pressure. Mikel Merino managed to capture the ball, Oyarzabal did not give the summer a chance.

The opening goal was all the more upsetting because the SFV selection had found its way into the game. With a more defensive 3-5-2 system, they kept the Spaniards away from their goal early and got their first big chance of the match. Loris Benito missed in the 11th minute after Silvan Widmer’s preliminary work from close range on David de Gea’s brilliant reaction. It was the only clear chance the Swiss had in the match.

The 0-1 led to a break in the Swiss game. The Spanish had significantly more possession afterwards, but the guests rarely found solutions in the structure of the game, as Petkovic had requested before the game. And the pass rate didn’t meet the coach’s wish either. A strong stoppage of the summer after a header from Ferran Torres prevented an early preliminary decision in the 28th minute.

It was one of the few good deeds of the Borussia Mönchengladbach goalkeeper, who had already led to the 0-1 lead in a 2-1 loss in Ukraine in September. Especially in the setup game, Sommer seemed uneasy at times after his misstep. In the 52nd minute he was lucky to deflect a shot by Jesús Navas in front of Oyarzabal’s feet, but Oyarzabal put the ball close to the goal.

Shaqiri alone on the bench at first

Unlike the friendly against Croatia (1: 2) on Wednesday in St. Gallen, Petkovic had put his best efforts back in the match against the leaders. He did it without Xherdan Shaqiri at first, after an hour he was replaced by Admir Mehmedi.

For the Liverpool FC attacking midfielder, it was the 83rd international game on his 29th birthday, the first in 16 months. After receiving a serenade and cake at the team’s hotel in the afternoon, Shaqiri had little to celebrate in the evening. He also failed to revive the offensive game and thus not prevent Switzerland from winning the fourth game of the year.

That Shaqiri could play at all became known only on Friday night. Madrid’s local health authority only issued the license after another test for the corona virus came back negative. The player had tested positive earlier in the week because his body had produced antibodies from a previous infection.

telegram

Spain – Switzerland 1: 0 (1: 0)

Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium, Madrid. – No spectators. – SR Wordyik (TUR). – Hill: 14. Oyarzabal (Merino) 1: 0.

Spain: From Gea; Navas, Ramos, Pau Torres (88. Rodri), Gaya; Olmo (57. Canales), Busquets, Merino; Ferran Torres, Oyarzabal (73. Moreno), Fati (57. Traoré).

Switzerland: Sommer; Elvedi, Schär, Rodríguez; Widmer (86. Gavranovic), Sow (60. Vargas), Xhaka, Freuler (86. Edimilson Fernandes), Benito (81. Zuber); Seferovic, Mehmedi (60. Shaqiri).

Observations: Spain without Thiago, Ruiz (both in quarantine) and Carvajal (injured), Switzerland without Akanji, Steffen (tested positive for Corona), Aebischer, Ajeti, Embolo, Lang, Mbabu and Zakaria (all injured). Warning: 30 ° Schär (foul), 64 ° Marlino (foul), 75 ° Freuler (foul).