The EM adventure is sportingly simple and politically very explosive

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First of all: anything other than first place in this group with Romania, Israel, Kosovo, Belarus and Andorra would be a bitter disappointment for our national team. Since 2014, Switzerland is the only team besides World Cup finalist France to have reached the knockout stage at all major tournaments. The sense of justice has increased, so participation in the sixth final round in a row is a must for the SFV.

Still, coach Murat Yakin is needed. The generation of U21 European Championship finalists from 2011 around Granit Xhaka, Xherdan Shaqiri and Yann Sommer is getting older, the European Championship in Germany will be the last hurray for the most successful generation in SFV history. The qualification offers the national coach the opportunity to initiate the turnaround, so that the national team can continue to meet their own requirements and those of the fans in the near future.

Akanji and Embolo required

Fabian Rieder, Ardon Jashari and Zeki Amdouni represent the future of this team, after the U21 European Championship in Romania (and Georgia) in June at the latest, they must become an integral part of the national team. Other talents such as Lewin Blum, Kastriot Imeri, Darian Males, Becir Omeragic, Leonidas Stergiou, Filip Stojilkovic, Andi Zeqiri and Cédric Zesiger are in the pipeline and represent the national teams of the future. Participating in the European Championship would be an important step in personal development.

But other established players have not yet reached their full potential. Man City defender Manuel Akanji has to step out of the shadow of Xhaka, Sommer and Shaqiri. So is Breel Embolo. Because of their experience, their personality and their status within the team, the two are leaders and the leaders of the future. With Gregor Kobel, the successor to Yann Sommer is ready. Djibril Sow, Denis Zakaria, Nico Elvedi, Ruben Vargas and Noah Okafor must also have the ambition to develop further – they will form the framework of this national team at the 2026 World Cup in North America.

If everything goes normally, the group promises little excitement from a Swiss perspective. No opponent is in the top 50 of the FIFA world rankings.

Apple of Discord Belarus

Politically, there is even more tinder in it. The fact that Belarus is allowed to participate in the qualification at all causes head shaking and misunderstanding in many places. The country with its nine million inhabitants is considered the last dictatorship in Europe. Since the protests following the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko in the summer of 2020 and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022, it has been a thorn in the side of many observers. UEFA is struggling to make a clear decision. With the ban that home games in Belarus may not be played, she opted for a hybrid solution, but did not show a clear edge either.

The fact that Switzerland has to play their first match against Belarus in Serbia on Saturday is ironic in their recent history. However, it is not expected that tempers will run high in Novi Sad over the two heated and politically charged duels with Serbia at the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, especially since the match will be held behind the scenes. closed doors.

Hot duels against Kosovo

The confrontations with Israel and Kosovo are also tough. SFV president Dominique Blanc is looking forward to the two brother duels – the Kosovo Albanian diaspora in Switzerland numbers more than 100,000 people. Still, Switzerland expects a hot dance in Pristina in September and at home in November, especially if Kosovo is still in the race for a European Championship ticket.

Switzerland last played Israel in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. The country has always been a powder keg due to its geopolitical position, as evidenced by the fact that Israel is part of Europe’s UEFA – not Asia’s AFC. Five parliamentary elections in three years do not bode well for political stability and unrest continues to erupt, particularly in the Palestinian territories.

It is to be hoped that despite the political explosiveness, sport will make headlines: we wish many Swiss goals and victories and that the national team confidently qualifies for the summer 2024 tournament in Germany. There is a good chance that Heinz Hermann will be replaced as national record player in the course of the year: Granit Xhaka (111 caps) and the currently injured Xherdan Shaqiri (112) could match the number of 118 caps in the fall. It would be the deserved reward of an excellent national career for both.

Source : Blick