Seferovic also has a chance at the European Championship: Murat Yakin calls for striker casting

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Despite Xherdan Shaqiri’s beautiful free kick goal, concerns remain. “How is this national team supposed to score goals?” Blick asked before the test kick-off in Ireland. Apart from the realization that Shaqiri can be relied on, the 1-0 win in Dublin offers no solution. The national team should not hope that “Shaq Attack” will somehow be used in every match at the European Championships.

The first win since September 2023 cannot disguise the fact that Breel Embolo is missing everywhere as a striker. “He is irreplaceable,” says Murat Yakin. But just like with Shaqiri, relying on Embolo to somehow get back into European Championship shape in time after his cruciate ligament tear would be just as fatal. The Nati coach also sees it that way after only three goals in the last five games.

Murat Yakin sounds the storm alarm! His harsh reckoning with Embolo representatives Zeki Amdouni and Noah Okafor: “Without Breel there is no relief, no penetration. Communication and interaction are also lacking. Without Breel it will be difficult in the final third…»

For this reason and because of the big question mark behind Embolo’s form, Yakin asks for a striker casting almost three months before the start of the European Championship: “The doors are open to anyone who scores goals in the coming months.”

Murat Yakin opens the European Championship door for Seferovic

Yakin himself brings an old friend into play: “I also think of Haris Seferovic.” In June 2023, the 32-year-old wore a national team kit for the last time during the European Championship qualifier against Romania. Seferovic then moved to Al-Wasl in Dubai and has not been called up since. Although he never resigned from the national team, he no longer believed in further chapters in the Swiss uniform.

In the Blick interview last December, Seferovic said: “Any experienced player can help the team, whether he plays or not. And I know where the gate is. A real nine is needed everywhere, one that sits at the front and in the right place.” So far this season, “the man from Sursee” has scored 11 goals in 23 games for Al-Wasl. What’s that worth? In Seferovic’s eyes, the competition in the United Arab Emirates is better than its reputation: “It’s not as good as in Europe, but it’s not as easy as many people think. It’s not a bad competition.” Chicago loanee Xherdan Shaqiri proves that a move to a worse league doesn’t necessarily reduce value to the national team.

Seferovic is not the big snapper like Alex Frei recently (42 goals in 84 international matches) in the national team (93/25), but that also applies to Embolo (63/13). What makes them both particularly valuable: Their physicality allows them to be played at any time, allowing them to hold the ball, bind opponents – and thus create space for their teammates. Qualities that Amdouni and Okafor lack.

Itten and Monteiro are also big and strong

Seferovic can hope for a comeback from Nati. Or else? Then there is Cedric Itten, who talks to former international Timm Klose in Blick-Kick: “He is a crusher.” But the Basel native rarely impresses in the national team and has been in good form at YB. The fact that Yakin does not mention his name on his own initiative is also a sign.

Itten’s YB colleague Joël Monteiro is also big and strong. Yakin likes him, it is unclear whether Monteiro will receive his Swiss passport on time. Yakin should not rule out taking a player without national team experience to the European Championship. He says: “My assistant Giorgio Contini was a striker himself. He and I have the wonderful task of observing all the candidates in the coming months.”

Source : Blick