Nati coach Fischer opts for a new approach: tolerating pressure is something you have to learn

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For years, the national team took advantage of the opportunity to give young players the opportunity to gain experience on the international stage. Successfully. This expanded the pool of national players.

But times have changed. Switzerland no longer plays against Slovakia, Belarus, Germany and again against Slovakia during the year, but is allowed to play with the big players from Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic because Russia is excluded due to the war in Ukraine.

Since 2017, the national team has qualified for the quarter-finals at every World Cup and winning in the group stage has become a given. The bar has been higher for a long time. Qualifying for the quarterfinals is no longer the goal, but rather the means to get the chance to advance to the medal round.

Only: the quarter-finals of the last four World Cups were stuck. Nati coach Patrick Fischer speaks of a blockage. Solving this is difficult. There are two possible solutions: You can fool yourself into believing that you are small and don’t experience pressure, or you can accept the challenge and learn to deal with the pressure.

Fischer chose the latter. He increases the pressure on the players. The betrothal is no longer Jekami. If you want to play in the national team, you have to perform. After creating breadth in the team, the top players from their own competition have now been recruited.

Not only the players are under pressure, but also Fischer. He knows he has to perform at the World Cup in the Czech Republic. ‘At some point we have to make a breakthrough. Otherwise, another coach will have to try.” His contract expires in the spring.

Source : Blick