Switzerland defeats Slovakia

Some games are truly more important than what they seem.
Now Slovakia isn’t Brazil but I think one should still respect the likes of Vittek, Mintal and Hamsik.

Kuhn is a fox: instead of being called Koebi Kuhn, he should be called Fuchs Kuhn, Kun the fox. He chose Slovakia because Switzerland’s first game at Euro 2008 will be against the Czech Republic. Now I know that the Czechs might not be to happy to be compared with their neighbours but what Kuhn says is not so absurd.

Then again, 10 days before Euro 2008 you don’t want to play against the likes of Germany and risk being battered and shattered and losing players due to injuries because they’ve tried that one consolation goal at the 90th minute.
Thus Slovakia was the perfect choice to end a losing streak of 4 consecutive defeats and grant the team some confidence before the great event.
What can be better than a convincing with a clean sheet?

This was not only a game to win but also a game where the countless talents of Switzerland’s young team (the youngest team at Euro 2008) could prove their worth.
Behrami was probably man of the match scoring the opening goal following a touch by the goalkeeper Mucha at the 56th minute. 7 minutes later he provided the assist that gave Frei his 33rd goal, one goal away from the all-time Swiss record held by Turkyilmaz.
The Dortmund striker will have a chance of becoming such a record-holder in the final friendly against minnows Liechtenstein.

Seven months since its last win (3-1 vs co-hosts Austria) Switzerland has many reasons to be satisfied. Patrick Muller showcased an encouraging display following many months or rehabilitation from a terrible injury that seemed to have ended his Euro 2008 hopes. His experience contributed to making Senderos play a good game (despite the so-called “Anfield Nightmares”) and ensure a rare clean-sheet.

Our starlet Inler and Ludovic Magnin with his poisonous free-kicks strengthened a midfield that isn’t the same when Barnetta is not around. Hopefully this dependency on the Leverkusen talent won’t have consequences on the solidity and quality of Switzerland’s game.

Two players will have to give up their Euro 2008 dream and the choice is not a big surprise. Considering Muller’s return it’s either going to be Eggimann or Grichting in defence (and personally I would keep the former) and one among Huggel, Cabanas and Gygax (and here I would discard the former, who has never particularly impressed me).

Switzerland – Slovakia 2-0 (0-0)
Referee: Kelly/IRL
Lugano: 10′150 spectators
Goals: 56th Behrami, 63rd Frei.
Switzerland: Benaglio; Lichtsteiner (78th Grichting), Müller (77th Djourou), Senderos, Magnin; Behrami (84th Cabanas), Fernandes, Inler, Vonlanthen (68th Gygax); Frei (80th Yakin), Streller (64th Derdiyok).
Slovakia: Mucha; Pekarik, Petras, Brezinsky, Cech (85th Salata); Kolbas (46th Holosko), Zabavnik, Hamsik (91st Dolezaj), Obzera (75th Vascak); Jakubko (71st Mintal), Vittek.

Some opinions:
Patrick Muller: I felt well and I don’t really think about my knee any longer. However, I’m still a bit discouraged when it comes to headers and other such moves.
It is obvious that the level at Euro 2008 is going to be quite different compared to this game, Now, I’ll be honest with my coach and he will decide whether I’m ready for this competition.
Concerning the game, we’ve had a hard time creating chances in the first half. Apart from that I believe that Inler and Fernandes have played an excellent game in midfield.

Alexander Frei: This is a win that rewards our effort in these last days. The training sessions this last week we’re high level. There’s a lot of positive aggressiveness.

Philippe Senderos: We started the game quite well. We were superior to our opponents from a physical point of view. There was more place in their own side and it was fundamental to have a clean sheet.
Muller’s experience is a great advantage to our team. He brought a lot of security and stability, it’s obvious.

Michel Pont: We worked hard on our defensive skills this week. The first half was due to our approach to the game. The team had to work on its defence. We have achieved our objective. In the second half Behrami and Vonlanthen have become more aggressive and that changed everything.

Gelson Fernandes: Our training week is the reason for this 1st half. But we were confident and our opponents created few chances.

A low-quality resumé of the game: