Granit and Taulant Xhaka made history when they faced each other at Euro 2016, but the Switzerland star admitted it was a odd feeling.
Advertisement
Switzerland came out on top 1-0 Saturday in its Euro 2016 Group A opener against Albania, which got off to a bad start in its first-ever appearance in a major competition.
The Rapids’ offseason signing proceeded to line up on the right side of midfield and just five minutes after subbing in, he was involved in one of the defining moments of the match.
Switzerland is amongst the best teams in this tournament and is ranked 15 in the FIFA World Ranking and this team will be confident about winning their first game of this tournament against the underdog Albania.
Ten players in the Albanian squad were either born in or grew up in Switzerland.
Having been given a yellow card for an unnecessary late challenge in midfield, Cana then got into an terrible tangle on the edge of his own penalty area, slipping under pressure and putting his hand on the ball to stop a Haris Seferovic shot.
For the first time in a EURO match, brothers lined up against each other.
Gianni De Biasi’s men didn’t have a great start to the game, but as they settled, they had their chances to take something from it.
Dzemaili combined with Haris Seferovic to send the latter straight through the heart of the Albania defence 10 minutes later, but his shot was straight into the goalkeeper’s arms.
His side ended on the losing side as Basel’s Fabian Schar’s header on the fifth minute, separated the two sides, after prevailing from Valmir Berishia’s howler which allowed the Swiss defender to head home and break the deadlock in this fixture.
As the half continued, more chances were coming Albania’s way.
Switzerland hit the woodwork through Blerim Dzemaili from the resulting free-kick but entered half-time with the game firmly in their grasp.
As for Albania, despite playing their first tournament, have reached the final stages and have proved on more than one occasion that they are more than a competent outfit. Out came Carballo’s yellow card again and off the 32-year-old went, meaning he misses Wednesday’s game against France in Marseille.
The Italian coach said that Albania, who also face Romania on June 19, might still be able to go through even if they lost, given that four third-place sides will reach the knock-out rounds. Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box.
Advertisement
Albania must choose between in-form striker Armando Sadiku or regular starter Sokol Cikalleshi.
