Zakaria the only Foal awarded a start by new head coach Yakin

Switzerland beat Greece 2-1 in a friendly match which was also new head coach Murat Yakin’s first game in charge of the team. The only Borussia Mönchengladbach player in the starting line-up was Dennis Zakaria.

Breel Embolo had already left the squad after two days as had been planned so that he can focus on his recovery from injury here at Gladbach, and Yann Sommer and Nico Elvedi, two regular starters in the Swiss national team, were rested by the new national team head coach Murat Yakin. This meant that Denis Zakaria (photo: imago images / Just Pictures) was the only Foal to start yesterday’s friendly match vs. Greece in Basel, as he played alongside Remo Freuler in defensive midfield. The 24-year-old put in a solid performance before he was substituted after 70minutes, by which point all the goals of the game had been scored. Steven Zuber (7’) opened the scoring for the Swiss before Vangelis Pavlidis (34’) equalised for Greece, and then Switzerland regained the lead through Ruben Vargas (51’).

The team’s next challenge is a tough World Cup qualifier against European champions Italy on Sunday evening (kick-off 20:45 CEST, in Basel). They then face Northern Ireland on Wednesday evening (kick-off 20:45 CEST, in Belfast). Switzerland are currently in second place in qualifying group C, trailing Italy by three points but with a game in hand.