November 30 – Switzerland coach Murat Yakin has kept his job for next year’s European Championship after the national federation resisted calls to fire him.
Switzerland last week qualified for Euro 2024 by finishing second to Romania in Group I with 17 points, two clear of third-placed Israel.
But the Swiss reached the finals despite a run of eight qualifying games since June when they beat only Andorra amid reports of tension between the coach and senior players Granit Xhaka and Manuel Akanji.
The vote of confidence came just days before Yakin is due at the Euro 2024 draw in Hamburg, Germany.
“Even though we have drawn four matches and lost once in the last qualifying matches, Murat Yakin has our full confidence,” Swiss soccer federation president Dominique Blanc said.
Yakin’s hold on the job seemed even more shaky after another Swiss, Urs Fischer, became available after being fired by Union Berlin, whom he had taken from Germany’s second division to the Champions League.
Speculation also centred on Lucien Favre, the former coach of Borussia Dortmund and Nice, who also is Swiss and a free agent.
Yakin has coached Switzerland since August 2021 and reached last year’s World Cup by finishing above Italy in their qualifying group.
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