Granit Xhaka and Milot Rashica fighting for the ball Source: SITA/AP/Visar Kryeziu
PRISTINA – The captain of the Swiss national football team, Granit Xhaka, criticized the allegedly lukewarm preparation for the match in Pristina after Saturday’s 2:2 draw with Kosovo in the European Championship qualifiers. The leading team of Group I led twice in the match, but striker Veddat Muriqi took two points away in the fourth minute of overtime with his second goal of the match.
“We played the way it looked all week. We didn’t train as we should have. No pace, no intensity. Today it looked like a friendly match, or like a soccer player in the park. That’s not how it works.” said Xhaka according to the Blick newspaper.
“You can’t switch from zero to 100 in a match when you haven’t done much in a whole week. After kick-off, it’s a completely different rhythm of the game, no footballer in the world can do that.” stated the 30-year-old midfielder of Leverkusen, where he transferred in the summer after years spent at Arsenal.
The coach did not agree with his words
Coach Murat Yakin disagreed with his words and said he would talk to Xhak.
“We trained as usual, everything was under control. Of course, we didn’t do everything we planned. But there is always an opponent. We can’t expect to just go through this group.” Yakin said.
Photo gallery (2) Source: SITA/AP/Laurent Gillieron
After the initial three wins, his team drew for the second time in a row. They lead the group by two points ahead of Romania. Kosovo, which is ranked 109th in the world, has yet to win in the Euro 2024 qualifiers. He has four points for draws and is second to last in the table.
Author: © List Source: CTK
2023-09-10 12:11:38
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