Two games, two clean sheets: Gregor Kobel keeps Switzerland on course | OneFootball

After their bitter quarter-final exit at the 2026 World Cup against Argentina (1-3 after extra time), Switzerland, with Gregor Kobel in goal, have made a good start to the Nations League. In Group B1, the Nati lived up to their role as favorites on the first two matchdays and, after a 3-0 win in North Macedonia, followed it up with another victory by the same scoreline in Scotland.

Without Granit Xhaka and Breel Embolo, who came under scrutiny over forged Covid vaccination certificates and were therefore not included in the squad, Switzerland made a very good start at Hampden Park in Glasgow. In the 11th minute, Jack Hendry could only stop the through-running Dan Ndoye with a professional foul and was consequently shown an early red card. Although, after VAR intervention, there was no penalty as initially awarded by referee Nead Minakovic, Ricardo Rodriguez converted the resulting free-kick to give Switzerland the lead in the Scottish goal.

Down to ten men, Scotland focused on at least staying compact and creating danger on the counterattack, but with limited success. In the end, the Bravehearts managed only two shots on goal after 90 minutes, meaning BVB goalkeeper Kobel had a fairly quiet evening overall.

Elvedi provides the decisive blow

After Switzerland had still struggled somewhat before the break despite having an extra man on the field, the Swiss became more dominant and purposeful after halftime. When Nico Elvedi made it 2-0 in the 55th minute following an initially cleared corner, the game was effectively decided. Zeki Amdouni finally put the finishing touch on the 3-0 final score in the 82nd minute.

Photo: Getty Images

Switzerland continue on Saturday with a home game in Lucerne against Slovenia. Another win would then take Kobel and his teammates very close to their targeted return to the top tier of the Nations League.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.