Peter Schmeichel has claimed that Liverpool ace Xherdan Shaqiri has been ‘behaving like a child’ amid reports he was angry with the fact that Granit Xhaka was made Switzerland captain ahead of him.
Shaqiri hasn’t been included in Switzerland’s squad to take on Ireland and Denmark this international break, however that still doesn’t mean he’s managed to stay out of the headlines in some way.
As per the Mirror, Shaqiri sat out his side’s last two qualifiers due to him reportedly being unhappy with manager Vladimiar Petkovic’s decision to give the armband to Xhaka instead of him, with these reports going unconfirmed.
It’s also stated that Xhaka somewhat addressed these rumours following their 1-1 draw with Ireland, and now, Schmeichel has joined in on the conversation.
As per Blick, via the Mirror, Schmeichel has had his say on the situation, stating that “Xhaka showed that he wants to be a leader even without ties – and gave the pressure to Shaqiri. That was brilliant of him. In contrast to Shaqiri, who behaved like a child.”
Shaqiri has barely played for Liverpool so far this year, thus it’s easy to see how he might be getting frustrated with other parts of his playing career, namely the Switzerland captaincy.
Switzerland currently sit third in their qualifying group for Euro 2020, three points and two places behind leaders Ireland, however they do have a game in hand over Mick McCarthy’s side.
Should the Swiss be wanting to qualify for the tournament proper, they’ll be needing to win at least once against Ireland or Denmark in this month’s international fixtures, as they look to top their group and book their place at next summer’s tournament.