Switzerland secured a close 1-0 win over a 10 man Albania team in the Group A clash at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis.
The game started well for the Swiss when they found a breakthrough in the first five minutes. Xherdan Shaqiri played in a corner that found Fabian Schar, who beat an utterly out of position Etrit Berisha.
Issues were compounded for Albania when their captain Lorik Cana was sent-off just after the 30-minute mark, receiving a second yellow for using his hand to deny an opportunity on goal for Haris Seferovic.
Both sides had decent opportunities to score, but both goalkeepers played inspired roles in the game to prevent either side from taking a true upper-hand.
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Albania
Etrit Berisha – 6: Made a mistake that cost Albania the opening goal, but as the nerves wore off he made some very key saves to prevent the Eagles from falling further behind.
Ansi Agolli – 6: Saw some important runs up the left-side of the field to provide for the forwards and matched up well against Stephan Lichtsteiner.
Mergim Mavraj – 5: Looked a bit suspect coming out of defence at times, with some cheap giveaways putting his team under further pressure.
Lorik Cana – 3: Really let his team down by getting sent off for two unnecessary yellow cards and will now miss the next game against France.
Elseid Hysaj – 6: Looked nervous at the start of the contest. As things went on he grew into the game and played some great passes that put Aramando Sadiku in behind the Swiss defence.
Taulant Xhaka – 6: A decent game before being replaced. Had a good opportunity to get Albania level, but was unable to keep his shot down.
Burim Kukeli – 4.5: Was quiet for much of the game, with his only real impact coming when he was booked for a cynical foul late on.
Amir Abrashi – 5: Provided a couple of good forward passes from the midfield, but that was about it.
Ermir Lenjani – 7: The best player for Albania in the second-half when they were chasing the levelling goal. Made some really good runs forward, however, it was the execution in the final third that let him down.
Aramando Sadiku – 6: Had some really good chances that he could not take advantage of and was replaced late in the game
Odise Roshi – 6: Was key in the first-half when Albania looked to move forward before going a man down. He won some key battles that saw the team able to advance down his flank.
Substitutes
Ergys Kace – 4: After coming on in the 61st minute his only impact was to be booked.
Sokol Cikalleshi – N/A: Had no impact on the game after coming on for Roshi in the 73rd.
Shkelzen Gashi – N/A: Another player whose influence was minimal after coming off the bench with little time left.
Switzerland
Yann Sommer – 8: Made some really key saves from one-on-one opportunities against Sadiku. Was also very confident when coming to claim balls from set pieces.
Ricardo Rodriguez – 6: Was able to really cause some issues getting down the left-side of the field to provide for his forwards, while also looking fairly strong in defence and making some key interceptions.
Johan Djourou – 5: There were some periods of the game where he was caught out and it could have cost his team dearly.
Fabian Schar – 6: Scored what was the match winner from a Shaqiri corner and also looked strong against the threat of Sadiku, especially compared to his partner in defence.
Stephan Lichtsteiner – 6: Was lucky late in the game when he looked to bring down Lenjani in the area. Apart from that though he looked determined going forward and had a chance that he could not convert.
Granit Xhaka – 6: Played some good balls into the feet of Haris Seferovic that were not made the most of.
Valon Behrami – 5: Was solid in the midfield, recorded some really key tackles and made a couple of runs that got the Swiss moving forward.
Admir Mehmedi – 6: Was good in a role linking attack to defence and his combination with Shaqiri caused issues to Albania’s defence.
Blerim Dzemaili – 6: Provided some good opportunities before he was replaced in the 74th minute.
Xherdan Shaqiri – 8: Was key in most of the go forward for the Swiss. He provided the assist for the only goal when he was able to find Schar from the corner.
Haris Seferovic – 4: Had multiple opportunities to put the game out of Albania’s reach, but his execution in front of goal was poor.
Substitutes
Breel Embolo – 6: Showed his strength able to really fight for position and win fouls after coming off the bench
Fabian Frei – 5: Provided some decent passes going forward but never a chance to make a real impact on the game.
Gelson Fernandes – N/A – Came on late for Shaqiri.
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