The 0-2 defeat in Denmark made a fundamental problem of the Swiss national team obvious: they lack a classic striker. Coach Murat Yakin must rely on Zeki Amdouni – and on Noah Okafor, who he is currently without.
He scores regularly, but sometimes seems lost up front in the center: Breel Embolo in the Nations League match against Denmark.
Gian Ehrenzeller / Keystone
The 0:2 defeat in Denmark at the start of the new Nations League campaign has left its mark on the Swiss. The national team felt disadvantaged by the referees, including VAR, on Thursday evening. On Sunday in the sold-out Stade de Genève against Spain, defender Nico Elvedi and captain Granit Xhaka, who made his comeback as a hothead when he received two warnings in the wild final phase – and was sent off for a frustration foul on the halfway line – will be missing after their sending off. “That must not happen to me,” said Xhaka later.
The Swiss team had earned a lot of credit at the exciting European Championships in the summer by reaching the quarter-finals. However, after the well-organized but poor and, above all, harmless performance in Denmark, a key question remains: Who should score the goals in the national team on the way to the 2026 World Cup?
The team has been lacking a goalscorer for some time. At the European Championships, seven players shared the eight goals, with only Breel Embolo scoring twice. But the powerful striker is not a goal scorer either (15 goals in 68 international matches), and needs space to exert his power. He sometimes seems lost at the front of the centre, and in Denmark he was ineffective and was rarely able to keep the ball.
At the European Championship, the Swiss shone with their system and their variability. After the retirement of Xherdan Shaqiri, however, they are now missing that pinch of creativity or even genius that was also decisive in close encounters in 2024 from time to time – for example in the 1-0 win in Ireland in the spring or the 1-1 draw at the Euro against Scotland.
The national team is definitely lacking an internationally established offensive player. And so, with a view to qualifying for the World Cup next year, national coach Murat Yakin is relying on the strong development of talented attacker Zeki Amdouni at his new club Benfica Lisbon – and on Noah Okafor finally making his breakthrough at Milan. Yakin has decided not to use Okafor in the current international matches because he was not satisfied with his attitude and behavior as a reserve at the European Championships.
