The France – Switzerland game was not the best of crowd pleasers especially in the second half but besides the flattened ball, there was an unusual phenomenon taking place that caught everyone’s attention.
The jerseys of the Swiss players were coming apart during the game when the French pulled on them. The tugs weren’t the forceful kind but it still resulted in the material tearing up during the game.
Granit Xhaka was hit the hardest by the on-field wardrobe malfunction having to get his shirt replaced twice during the game. Youngster Breel Embolo and midfielder Mehmedi were the other players who needed replacements
Shaqiri spoke to newspaper Blick about the incident. “I hope Puma does not produce condoms.” said the winger. It was great to see Shaqiri look at the funny side of things but his comments were certainly not the most veiled.
Embolo also had his say on the kits. “We have had a few problems with the jersey. The kit manager is not fully ready yet, but we are.”. The Swiss keeper Jan Sommer was more straightforward on his opinion choosing to focus on the tournament. “It can happen. It means it was a fight on pitch.”
The Guardian spoke with a representative from the company. “Five Puma teams have played 10 games in this tournament without such problems. Our product people are currently investigating the shirt material. We will provide a further update when we have one.”
Adidas also issued a statement regarding the Beau Jeu ball that burst in the second half. “We are looking into what happened. Incidents of this nature are extremely rare. The reason for the tear has not yet been identified but Beau Jeu has been widely praised by respected experts for its contribution to the exciting start to the tournament.”
Switzerland and France qualify for round of 16
Switzerland survived a melee of attacks in the first-half from France to ensure they earned the point they required to qualify from the group stage. Both Paul Pogba and Dimitri Payet hit the post as France failed to find a goal.
But they still managed to finish on top of their group. Albania claimed their first ever win in a major competition by defeating Romania. The finished in 3rd position and are in contention for a place in the round of 16.
