The Swiss national team starts the international season with a draw – 1:1 in Belfast

(sda) The Swiss national team missed the desired success in its first match of the year. The friendly against Northern Ireland in Belfast ended in a 1-1 draw.

He's not particularly fast, but very effective: This is how Stefan Gartenmann introduced himself to the media during the training camp in Almancil. While the self-deprecating presentation garnered some sympathy points, the first friendly match revealed that the newcomer to the national team wasn't lying about his reduced speed.

After a quarter of an hour, a long ball was enough to put the central defender under pressure. He held his marker, received a yellow card, and conceded a free kick near the penalty area. Northern Ireland's 21-year-old star prospect Isaac Price stepped up, took aim, and beat Gregor Kobel into the latter's corner. Gartenmann played a part in the early defeat in Belfast: an extremely bitter debut for the 28-year-old, who lives in Denmark but was able to become a Swiss citizen at relatively short notice thanks to a grandfather who grew up in Switzerland. On March 11, he received his Swiss passport, and ten days later he was in the national team's starting eleven.

However, blaming Gartenmann alone for the false start would be an understatement. Switzerland struggled as a team in the opening minutes. The absence of leading players Manuel Akanji in central defense and, above all, Granit Xhaka in midfield was noticeable. For a long time, the Swiss passed the ball around without any ideas, waiting in vain for quick attacks or deep passes.

As expected, the game proved to be tough against an opponent who had won five consecutive matches in front of their own fans without conceding a goal. This streak ended after just under half an hour. Given the lack of attacking ideas, it was hardly surprising that Switzerland's equalizer came from a set piece. Vincent Sierro headed home a cross from Ricardo Rodriguez. For the 29-year-old Toulouse international, it was his first goal as an international in eleven appearances.

Four players make their debut

The second debutant to start alongside Gartenmann was Isaac Schmidt. Yakin hoped the 25-year-old right-back would make an impact on the attack. And he delivered at times. The Leeds United player made a name for himself with two blocked shots and several winning runs. Overall, a solid debut.

Lucas Blondel, who came on for Schmidt in the 68th minute, and Alvyn Sanches also made their first appearances for the Swiss national team. The Lausanne-Sport attacking star delivered the cross that Andi Zeqiri almost converted to make it 2-1 in the 78th minute, but his header was blocked.

Otherwise, the Swiss weren't very active offensively, despite significantly more possession. Breel Embolo, captaining the team for the first time in his 74th international appearance, also remained unobtrusive. Overall, the Northern Irish actually had the better chances to score a second goal. Price and Ethan Galbraith narrowly missed the target, and Kobel was on hand to stop Jamie Donley's header.

For Switzerland, it was their eighth consecutive match without a win; their last victory was in the European Championship round of 16 against Italy at the end of June. Tuesday offers them the chance to end this ignominious run. In the second friendly of the year, they face Luxembourg in St. Gallen.