The Swiss national team experienced a debacle in the round of 16 of the World Cup in Qatar. Portugal outclassed them by 6:1, and the public in Switzerland was disappointed by Granit Xhaka’s performance.
The Swiss sports newspaper “Blick” conducted a poll, according to which most readers believe that the national team captain and Arsenal footballer, Granit Xhaka, should retire from the national team.
In a sample of over 30,000 readers, 70 percent of them are not satisfied, primarily, with behavior that does not befit the captain of a national team.
First of all, they emphasized his behavior when he grabbed his crotch in the match against Serbia, but also many other provocations.
There are also those who defend Xhaka, noting that Switzerland reached the knockout stage in the last 5 major tournaments thanks to his excellent performances.
One of the most famous journalists there, Sascha Ruefer, also dealt with this topic.
“The captain must not allow himself situations like those with grabbing the crotch and finally provoking the opponent, after which there was a lot of tension on the field. We need to publicly address this issue and discuss its role. It’s hard to move forward like this,’ said Ruefer.
Also, Ruefer was skeptical even before the 4th year, when Stephan Lichtsteiner left the national team.
“I said this four years ago. I wasn’t sure how good it was to make Xhaka captain,” he added.
Switzerland ended the World Cup in the round of 16 with a 6:1 loss to Portugal.
