Last week, Sunderland’s Granit Xhaka captained Switzerland in their 4-0 win over Kosovo in a World Cup qualifier and he’s set to retain the armband ahead of their clash against Slovenia later today.
The midfielder joined Sunderland from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer window and was pleased with Switzerland’s performance in the first half against Kosovo.
Monday’s edition of [Le Temps](https://www.letemps.ch/) have relayed his comments, and they report the Sunderland signing appeared ‘serene, calm, without any tension in his body’ after the last tie, where he impressed in the middle of the pitch.
The 32-year-old has used the national team’s display in the second half against Kosovo to send a clear message to his teammates.
_“Our first half was almost perfect. We saw a very strong Switzerland. This victory sends a strong message to everyone,”_ he said.
_“We didn’t completely manage to stick to the plan. We see that we have very young players, and we need to improve in this area. It’s essential at this level. That must be our ultimate goal._
_“The question is not whether we could have scored more goals, even if we need to take care of the goal average which can ultimately be important, but to understand how to better hold our positions throughout a match so as not to put ourselves in danger.”_
The Black Cats star is well aware his latest comments could “come across as excessively demanding”.
However, he hasn’t forgotten about the criticism that Switzerland were subject to after finishing at the bottom of the table in the last edition of the UEFA Nations League.
Xhaka, who wasn’t pleased with the team’s negative perception, says the national team had a discussion at the start of this international break.
_“We didn’t always live up to expectations. I often heard, before facing Kosovo, that the Swiss team was no longer the team of the previous three years. And that really annoyed me,”_ Xhaka explained.
_“That’s why at the beginning of this meeting, we all spoke very openly. We agreed that this was no time for speeches, that we had no time to waste. We have to deliver, and now!”_
Switzerland have an opportunity go top of the World Cup qualifiers table by defeating Slovenia on Monday.