Home » EURO 2024: Yakin defends Akanji after missed penalty kick

EURO 2024: Yakin defends Akanji after missed penalty kick

Switzerland coach Murat Yakin defends Manuel Akanji, who missed a penalty kick that ended the team’s EURO 2024 campaign in the semis.

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Yakin defends Akanji after spot kick miss

With Switzerland and England tied at 1-1 after extra time, the Manchester City defender missed his side’s first spot kick.

The Three Lions converted all five of their penalty kicks, as England advanced in the semifinals.

Despite the crucial miss, Yakin commended Akanji for volunteering to take the first kick.

“You give responsibility to your players, and you can’t be angry at them afterwards – players who played a fantastic tournament, especially Manu,” he said.

“What can you say to him? Well, there’s not many words of solace. It doesn’t matter, no. I said ‘thank you’ to him for his performance, and also how he led the team, how he performed. This was really on the highest level.

“Of course, there’s deep emptiness, deep sadness. But this is the kind of sadness where everybody, every individual, has to work through it.”

Forget about the missed kick

Breel Embolo put the Swiss ahead after 75 minutes, only for Bukaya Sako to counter with an equalizer five minutes later.

Nonetheless, Yakin urged Akanji to keep his head up and try to forget abut his crucial missed kick.

“The beautiful thing is, it’s only a football game. On one hand, football is giving us so much in life, you can never pay it back,” he said.

“It’s incredible. But these moments are part of the business. It is a missed penalty. And now, he doesn’t need to be bothered anymore about it when you see how he played, the responsibility he carried on his shoulders.”