Speaking after his team’s 6-1 loss to Portugal and exit from the World Cup, Switzerland coach Murat Yakin explained that his plan to combat the Portuguese simply “didn’t work” while pointing to illness within the camp as another reason for the loss. Yakin explained:
“We’re sad that we couldn’t implement what we had planned. That certainly has something to do with our opponents, who were dominant. We have to accept that some things didn’t work out today, that’s nothing against the team – they tried everything. The team knows the system well… We were impatient and went on the offensive too quickly. We had a clear plan, but it didn’t work out. We have to accept that. We played a good tournament and played great football, but it didn’t work out today… Freshness was missing. [Nico] Elvedi was ill for four days, [Fabian] Schär had to come off, he wasn’t at full strength either ,and [Silvan] Widmer fell ill overnight. That burden has taken its toll on us.”
GWFN
