Murat Yakin hesitated for a moment, but then he was just too keen to join in the celebrations. The entire Swiss team had gathered in front of his bench to celebrate the 2-0 goal against Hungary, then the coach ran onto the pitch to pat his players on the back. And what can we say? Of course he played a big part in this goal.
Yakin, 49, is probably one of the coaches in the most difficult position at this European Championship. Last autumn, Switzerland was already calling for his replacement after a series of disappointing games. His contract runs until the end of the tournament. But now, after the first group match, Yakin is the coach who either surprisingly fielded or substituted all the goalscorers in Switzerland’s 3-1 opening victory: Kwadwo Duah, Michel Aebischer, and finally Breel Embolo. And Switzerland, which was previously difficult to assess, is now Germany’s fiercest competitor in the fight for victory in Group A.
“I’m still dreaming! I’m exploding inside, I still can’t believe it,” said Duah on Swiss television, “it will probably take a few days before I realise it.” Captain Granit Xhaka analysed: “We had a very good first half. We weren’t any worse in the second half, but the Hungarians had to do more. We deserved the win!”
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In a way, both opponents, the Swiss and the Hungarians, could only lose at the start of this tournament. They could hardly have made a more cheerful impression in Cologne and appeared hardly more numerous than the Scots did the day before at the opening match in Munich. The Swiss gathered where the supporters of 1. FC Cologne usually stand. The Hungarian fans dressed in black, still with inglorious memories from the 2021 European Championship, stood in the north. It then became loud on both sides, and at least on the Swiss side it was very cheerful.
In terms of sport, it was also clear beforehand that both teams would hardly be able to perform any worse than the Scots did in their 5-1 defeat against Germany. However, the question of who would be the favourite going into this second European Championship match was not really clear beforehand. The Swiss have more prominent individuals, an axis of goalkeeper Yann Sommer from Inter Milan, centre-back Manuel Akanji from Manchester City and Xhaka, champion and cup winner with Bayer Leverkusen, in midfield.
But the Hungarians were considered to be in better shape and more well-rehearsed. Until the 1:2 defeat in the friendly against Ireland last week, the team had gone 14 games in a row without defeat. And when the strengths of coach Marco Rossi’s team were discussed, the Italian’s special tactics were always mentioned, which allow a lot of freedom for the most important players, especially Dominik Szoboszlai from Liverpool FC.
Michel Aebischer is involved in the first two goals
There were hardly any surprises in the Hungarian line-up, but there were in the Swiss one. Yakin left 32-year-old Xherdan Shaqiri on the bench, as well as centre-forward Zeki Amdouni from Premier League relegated Burnley. Instead, Duah, a former professional from 1. FC Nuremberg, who is now under contract with Ludogorets Razgrad in Bulgaria – and was only playing his second international match – came in as a striker. And Aebischer, a midfielder from FC Bologna, also unexpectedly moved into the starting eleven, especially as a left full-back.
It was precisely the two new players who were the protagonists of the opening phase. Switzerland mostly had the ball, and as expected, Xhaka took on the main role in building up the game, and was later named player of the day. His team hardly allowed any Hungarian counterattacks. And in the twelfth minute, a combination led to the goal for the first time: Aebischer, who often moved from the left into the middle, played the ball at the end of an almost endless passing sequence between numerous Hungarian defenders into the path of Duah, who scored – and then celebrated a little later when referee Slavko Vincic overturned his offside decision.
The Swiss remained clearly the dominant team, and in the 20th minute Ruben Vargas from FC Augsburg should have made it 2-0. After picking up a bad pass from the Hungarian Milos Kerkez, he was stopped by goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi from RB Leipzig. While the Hungarians were unable to get into the game after the exciting opening phase, neither posing a threat nor defending effectively with their deep five-man defense, the Swiss took advantage of the large spaces that were available to them and made it 2-0 before half-time. This time Aebischer took the shot himself when no one was attacking him in front of the penalty area, and curled the ball into the corner.
The second half began without any major changes in the balance of power, with Switzerland still appearing to be in control. But the Hungarians took advantage of an opportunity after 67 minutes to showcase their strengths, namely Szoboszlai’s right foot. He had a little space on the edge of the penalty area and promptly crossed the ball perfectly in front of the goal. Barnabas Varga headed in to make it 1:2.
Now it was the Hungarians who briefly dominated proceedings, with substitute Martin Adam in attack, a footballer with the stature of a handball pivot. Yakin brought on the former Gladbach player Embolo to provide a little relief.
And anyone who still had doubts that this day in Cologne belonged to the Swiss and their coach knew it in injury time at the latest: Embolo, who has been out for a long time this season with a cruciate ligament tear, lost his bandage on the way to the goal, but still lifted the ball over Gulacsi into the net to make it 3-1.