Xhaka hails Switzerland spirit: ‘This team is f*cking amazing’

Man of the Match midfielder Granit Xhaka was lost for words as he praised his Switzerland side, saying they were “f*cking amazing” in their shootout triumph over France on Monday.

The Swiss stormed back from two goals down to draw level at 3-3 through 90 minutes before going on to win the shootout 5-4 to eliminate the 2018 World Cup winners.

All of that came after Switzerland wasted their own chance to go 2-0 up from the spot in regular time, and Xhaka, who will miss Switzerland’s clash with Spain for yellow card accumulation, was left absolutely stunned by his own team’s resilience against a Euro 2020 favourite.

What did Xhaka say?

“Sorry to say this word, but it’s f*cking amazing, man,” Xhaka told UEFA after the game. “We can make score the 2-0 and finish the game but the penalty we missed breaks us a little bit.

“After 3-1, to come back like this against France, to show big character, this team is f*cking amazing, man.”

Shootout hero Sommer speaks

While Xhaka dominated the midfield, it was Yann Sommer who made the key save in the shootout, diving to his right to stop Kylian Mbappe.

That save was the only one needed to win the shootout, and Sommer believes his side were deserved winners for how they handled the adversity of Monday’s battle.

“I’m very proud of the team and we did it,” he told SRF. “It’s so nice to see that in front of my parents. The manner was superb.

“We played against an incredible team but they had a moment when they were too arrogant and we said to ourselves that we would go to the end.”

He added: “It was an incredible evening of football, we showed a big mentality, of heart, going up two goals against the world champions, in a phase where we are a little down.

“I am incredibly proud of this team. At 3-1, nobody believed in us anymore, but before the match we said to ourselves that whatever happens, whatever the scenario, we will go to the end, to the end.

“Quarter-final: that’s history. We absolutely wanted to do it, we are proud.”

Further reading