It had already been foreshadowed by the Swiss’ inspiring European Championship, but now it’s official. Coach Murat Yakin and his assistant Giorgio Contini have extended their contracts with the Swiss
“I have always signaled that I am ready. My priority is always the national team. I’m looking forward to holding talks next week or the week after. Then we’ll see if there’s a continuation,” Yakin said immediately after the bitter exit in the European Championship quarter-final against England (3:5 n.E.).
His contract was dated until the European Championships, and both sides wanted to discuss the next steps afterwards depending on his performance there. And at the European Championship in Germany, Yakin, who enjoys great popularity in his home country as a tactician, collected arguments for further cooperation game after game
Switzerland demonstrated their potential in the preliminary round – most notably against Germany – before knocking European champions Italy out of the tournament and narrowly losing on penalties to European Championship finalists England.
In office since 2021 – heavy World Cup exit
So it was only logical that the Swiss Football Association wanted to keep the 49-year-old and his assistant Giorgio Contini. Yakin took over from Vladimir Petkovic in 2021 and prepared the Swiss for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, but this came to an abrupt end in the round of 16 after a 6-1 defeat to Portugal.
Yakin got the Swiss national team through the European Championship qualifiers with some difficulty, and the Swiss finished third in their group in League A of the Nations League in 2022/23
World Cup 2026 as a goal
With consistency in the coaching position, Switzerland should continue on its upward trajectory towards the top nations. After the Nations League this year and next year, the next major tournament will be the World Cup in Mexico and the USA in 2026. The association did not provide any information on the duration of Yakin and Contini’s contracts.
