In the penalty shootout of the European Cup Quarterfinals, Switzerland regrettably lost to England and did not reach the quarterfinals. After the match, Swiss international Akanji was interviewed by AIC and gave an in-depth reflection and summary of the match.
Akanji began by acknowledging that England had better control of the game, but Switzerland also created a number of scoring chances. He pointed out that despite England's possession, the Swiss were more active on the attacking end, creating more scoring chances. Unfortunately, however, these chances were not converted into goals, which ultimately led to the loss of the match.
On England's equalizing goal, Akanji said that his team had been happy after taking the lead, but then England gradually applied pressure and forced the Swiss to make adjustments. He singled out Saka's goal as a perfect one, scoring into the dead center on the right side of the goal. Akanji admitted that the Swiss might not have done enough in defending the goal, but the team still tried hard to try to equalize after conceding the goal, but unfortunately failed to do so.
Speaking about his club teammates, Akanji said they all came to him after the game to express their concern. He admitted that it was difficult to express his emotions in words after missing the first penalty and causing his team to lose. Nonetheless, he wished his club mates all the best and stayed healthy for the rest of the tournament and expects them to go far in this Europa League.
Finally, Akanji spoke highly of England's performance, saying that they showed a very high level of athleticism and teamwork in this match. He also said that if the England team can continue to maintain this momentum and continue to improve, then they have every possibility to win this year's European Cup.
