In the 3rd round of the UEFA Europa League Group A League match played on October 13, Beijing time, Switzerland lost 0-2 to Serbia. After the match, Swiss head coach Yakin was interviewed and gave an in-depth analysis and reflection on the match.
Yakin began by talking about the overall situation of the game: "We were aware of the situation today. The Serbian team was stronger and they won almost all the confrontations in the game. We have always been used to breaking deadlocks through technical superiority, but when that doesn't work, we need to retreat and counterattack. However, this was not our style and a lot of things went against us. We suffered an own goal and went 0-2 down, after which we tried to claw our way back into the game through penalties, but could barely regain control of the game. Overall, it wasn't a smart performance from us in this game."
On the specifics of the game, Yakin noted, "We played well in the first 40 minutes, but after that we made 1-2 stupid defensive mistakes and gave our opponents chances from set-pieces. They have been waiting for such chances and played smartly from their point of view. We lost patience and lost the confrontation, they were more determined than us and played smarter and defended better than us today."
Commenting on the performance of Zaka, the core of the team, Yakin said, "Zaka was as active as ever and he commanded the whole team in the game. But the problem wasn't just with him, we made mistakes on the defensive end and gave our opponents a chance to take advantage. Zaka played well but couldn't change the course of the game on his own."
In addition, Yakin explained the reasons for the Swiss team's poor performance since the Euros: "Since the Euros, some of the veterans have retired, taking a lot of experience with them. The young players need time to find their form, and the opponents now have an idea of how we play. We tried to add some new elements, hoping to surprise our opponents with our offensive pressure, but unfortunately it didn't work today. Serbia were very patient today and they punished us with chances from set-pieces and counter-attacks."
Looking ahead, Yakin said the Swiss team needs to learn lessons and work on improving the team's overall performance: "We need to learn from this game, find out what went wrong and improve in the next games. We have the strength and ability to beat any opponent, but only if we remain patient, united and determined."
