By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
Albania’s debut at a major international tournament ended in
a brave defeat on Saturday afternoon against Switzerland in Lens.
The Swiss recorded only their second-ever victory in 10
attempts at European Championship final games but they lacked firepower and
were slightly lucky to leave with three points from their Group A opener.
Fabian Schär scored the only goal of the game after just
four minutes and Albania played 55 minutes with just 10 men after their captain
Lorik Cana was dismissed for two silly bookings.
Nevertheless, Albania have plenty of pride to look back on
and will be difficult to beat in their remaining EURO 2016 fixtures.
Nervy
start
Considering that this was Albania’s major tournament debut,
it was going to be natural for them to be incredibly nervous and it showed in
the opening exchanges.
The majority of Switzerland’s squad have plenty of tournament
experience at international level. Failing that and a lot of them have played
in major matches in either their own domestic country or in the Bundesliga in
Germany.
Schär’s header came inside the first five minutes. The defender
guided in Xherdan Shaqiri’s excellent corner. Albanian goalkeeper Veton Berisha
had a very good match apart from this moment. He came for a ball he never
looked like getting and it made Schär’s job far easier than it should have
been.
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| Fabian Schar's early header proved to be decisive in Lens for Switzerland |
Schär (pictured heading the winning goal) hasn’t had an amazing season at club level for TSG
1899 Hoffenheim but he justified his selection with shrewd positional ability
throughout. In 21 international appearances for Switzerland, he now has six
goals which is a fabulous return for a central defender.
It would have helped to have two fellow Bundesliga-based
defenders in the backline with him and Johan Djourou and Ricardo Rodriguez were
both calming influences on the team, even if Djourou was guilty on a couple of
occasions of attempting to play a high offside line that nearly got exposed.
Arsenal fans will be pleased to have seen Granit Xhaka’s
control on the game and aggression in the central of the park. Xhaka played
some crisp passes and broke the game up impressively in midfield. If he curbs
his rocky disciplinary record, the Gunners have a real midfield general in
their ranks for the future.
Striking
questions
Breel Embolo is the bright hope of Swiss football but coach
Vladimir Petkovic elected to play a 4-3-3 formation and utilise the other two
forwards in his squad in Admir Mehmedi and Haris Seferovic. Mehmedi worked hard
but is not a natural goalscorer which Embolo has already shown he is.
Seferovic could have scored a hat-trick. He had plenty of
chances but failed to take them. Berisha might have made some good saves and
Seferovic played a significant role in Cana’s early shower. It was his clever
run that left the Albanian skipper slipping on the turf and then handling the
ball deliberately. However, Seferovic is a player who doesn’t fulfil the
confidence of many watching.
His club season might have ended happily with the goal that
ultimately kept Eintracht Frankfurt in the German top-flight but he had a
falling out with previous coach Armin Veh and scored a meagre three league
goals all campaign.
Even if his fitness might be a gamble, Embolo has to be the
player Switzerland should be using from the start of games if they are going to
advance deep into the tournament. His searing pace and crafty skill will make
him a real unpredictable talent for defenders to deal with.
Seferovic and Mehmedi are both very predictable. They are
hard-workers but they won’t produce the goals required for the Swiss.
A win is a win and Switzerland will be happy to get their
campaign off to a winning start but they could have scored more goals with more
ambition in the second half. They didn’t and will want to solve their firepower
issue before meeting Romania on Wednesday in Paris.
My top three players of the game
MAN OF THE MATCH: Yann Sommer (Switzerland)
The Switzerland keeper made two vital saves in the match to
keep his team infront. His stop from Albanian substitute Shkëlzen Gashi in the last
five minutes was the best of the tournament so far.
2nd: Fabian Schär (Switzerland)
The defender justified his selection in the team with a
vital early goal that proved to be the winner. He was the best player in the
Swiss defence and could be one of the surprises of EURO 2016.
3rd: Amir Abrashi (Albania)
The Sport-Club Frieburg midfielder was Albania’s best
player. He gave Granit Xhaka and Valon Behrami a stern test and played a
delicious ball for Gashi in the closing stages which the substitute failed to
give the finish it deserved.
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