"The first half was very good indeed," Murat Yakin said after Switzerland beat North Macedonia 3-0 in a game that again raised the question of how much they miss Granit Xhaka and Breel Embolo. The answer, at least on this evidence, was that they can keep functioning without both of them. Yakin backed that view with the shot count, the pressing and the way new names took the work on.

Yakin's case for the performance

Yakin said, "The shot count was 17-1 to us." That number matched the eye test. Switzerland finished with 22 goal attempts and 13 shots on target, so this was not a night where they waited for luck to break their way. It was sustained pressure from the start, and it fit the coach's line that, "We are very strong at pressing teams and that's why we did so well at the World Cup."

He also admitted the second half was looser. "We weren't as good in the second half and they came into the game and created a few chances but they weren't really dangerous," he said. That is the useful boundary on the performance. Switzerland were in control, but not for the full 90 minutes.

The players who filled the gaps

The goals came from Remo Freuler, who opened the scoring with his first international goal in almost two years, and Zeki Amdouni, who scored twice. BBC's match report also said Zachary Athekame provided both assists, while the stats pack only verifies one assist for him in Nations League data. Either way, the broader point stands, Switzerland are getting output from players who were not the obvious headline names before this game.

Xhaka had been omitted from the squad last week, while Embolo was missing after the federation said he stepped away "about the matter concerning his private life that became public in the media today". The national team also said it would complete the camp without him, with the focus kept on the group. Switzerland have lost just once in 10 outings, and this win looked like more than a fill-in job.

Yakin's side were stronger in possession, stronger without the ball and stronger in the final third. The next test is whether they can carry that same press and production into the rest of the camp, but this match left them with a clear point: they are not waiting for Xhaka and Embolo to be the only answers.

Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →