Manuel Akanji should forget about the missed penalty that ended Switzerland's dream of reaching the European Championship semi-finals and focus on his excellent performances that were instrumental in their impressive run, his coach Murat Yakin said on Saturday.
With Switzerland and England tied 1-1 after extra time, Akanji missed his side's first penalty while the Three Lions converted all five of their own to book a place in next week's semi-final in Dortmund, where they will play the Netherlands.
The Manchester City centre-back showed his true character by volunteering to take the first penalty, Yakin said.
“You give responsibility to your players and you can't get angry with them afterwards. They are players who had a fantastic tournament, especially Manu,” he said at a press conference.
“What can you say to him? Well, there aren't many words of comfort. It doesn't matter, no. I said 'thank you' for his performance, and also for how he led the team, how he performed. This was really at the highest level.
“Of course, there is a deep emptiness, a deep sadness. But it is the kind of sadness that everyone, every individual, has to overcome.”
Yakin said he was proud of the team for the way they performed at Euro 2024, denying hosts Germany a perfect start to the tournament, eliminating defending champions Italy and playing entertaining football.
He said his team played well and deserved to go through after defending resolutely to keep England's big names at bay.
Breel Embolo put the Swiss ahead after 75 minutes and sent the visiting fans into a frenzy, but the celebrations were cut short when Bukayo Saka fired a brilliant shot in off the far post to level the game.
Switzerland could have won in extra time when substitute Xherdan Shaqiri rattled the post with a scandalous attempt to score from a corner, before Zeki Amdouni forced Jordan Pickford into a last-gasp save.
“It hurts a lot when you put in so much effort, when you see the opportunities we had. I am very sad for the boys and also for the nation, that after such a performance, we have to abandon the tournament,” Yakin said.
He said Akanji's missed penalty was just a detail that could be forgotten in view of his overall performance.
“The beauty of it is that it's just a football match. On the one hand, football gives us so much in life that you can never repay,” he said.
“It's incredible, but those moments are part of the game. It's a missed penalty. And now, he doesn't have to worry about it anymore when you see how he played, the responsibility he carried on his shoulders.”
Information from Reuters and The Associated Press was used in this story.
