Switzerland coach Murat Yakin misses press conference with hearing problems as his team reaches Scotland on a shortened training cycle

On the training pitch in Glasgow, Murat Yakin stood at the edge of the centre circle, tilting his head right, then left. Davide Calla shouted an instruction, twice. Only on the third attempt did the Switzerland head coach catch it.

That same day, in the press conference room, Yakin's chair stayed empty. The Swiss football federation announced he could not attend because of hearing problems, and Calla took the seat to talk about Scotland. The man who has just turned 50 still worked with his players, still stood in his usual spot in the session preparing for a UEFA Nations League fixture. The only difference was that the sounds around him no longer arrived clearly.

Switzerland said Yakin's ear problem worsened under the strain of the flight, and that it has happened before. The wording was gentle, but it opens a different story: a team walking into an important match with both the legs of the collective and the ears of its guide compromised.

The trip to Scotland began with a morning that broke apart. The team's flight departed two hours late. Once airborne, the crew had to turn back and land in Zurich, refuel, and take off again. The squad arrived later than planned with just enough time for one training session. For a national team preparing for an away match at Hampden, losing a session is not a small thing.

On the other side, Scotland are also at an unusual starting point. Sebastien Pocognoli made his debut with a 0-0 draw away in Slovenia, and the meeting with Switzerland is his first home match. Switzerland, meanwhile, beat North Macedonia 3-0 on the opening matchday and stated their aim plainly: to take a stranglehold on the group.

Read only the results and you would think Switzerland are on familiar rails. Calla shattered that feeling with one short line: with the change of coach, this will be a different proposition to the Euros. He added that Scotland will be robust, will play with a lot of passion, and have quality players, especially in midfield with the ball at their feet. He also singled out a detail: in the second half against Slovenia, Scotland showed the quality they have.

The most telling thing in that press conference was not who was missing but who sat in his place: Switzerland spent an entire analysis cycle on a goalless 0-0 draw, and described it in very specific terms. They are not using the 1-1 draw between Scotland and Switzerland in Cologne on 19 June 2026 at the Euros as their template. They said outright that the template is obsolete, because the man on Scotland's touchline is now someone else.

For a national team with only a few days and a few sessions per camp, discarding old data to build new data is an expensive decision. It is also the mark of a staff that reads football the way the modern game demands: what an opponent used to do matters less than what they might do under a new man. Based on my experience following international matches across many World Cups and European qualifiers, the best-prepared teams are usually the ones willing to throw out old homework earliest.

The detail about the second half in Slovenia says more than a compliment. If Scotland play better after the break, that can signal a side that starts slowly, or a side that adjusts well in the dressing room. Either reading leads Switzerland to the same preparation: hold the rhythm in the first half and brace for a second half spent under pressure.

In the papers, the story will be told differently. People will circle the empty chair and call it instability. In 2026, thirty years ago, I stood in a press room and watched the same scene, and the match the next day still unfolded exactly as it had to. A press conference does not score goals, and a ringing ear does not ruin a training session.

The greater concern for Switzerland lies elsewhere: the players' bodies after an extended journey, and the fog around how Pocognoli will set up Scotland. At my age, I have seen enough to know that the image of the captain standing on the technical bench is something modern football worships to excess. The real work happens in the video room, on the training pitch, in evenings spent rewatching the opponent. Calla taking Yakin's seat and speaking clearly about Scotland is evidence that the machinery still runs. The only thing lost was a conversation with the press.

I have been criticised as a man reading poetry on television. I accept it. Being called poetic on air is something I am proud of, because the ball has always been poetry. And I still believe some matches are decided before the ball rolls, not in the press room, but in whether people can still hear each other.

In Glasgow, Yakin will need to hear his defenders clearly through the roar of Hampden. If he cannot, his team still has to hear one another. This match will most likely be answered in the first twenty minutes: whether Switzerland stay clear-headed enough not to be swept up by the crowd, or let that noise swallow their structure.