It was always going to be a fiercely contested encounter due to all the overlapping allegiances.
Albania versus Switzerland is no ordinary game. Rarely do you have so many players on both sides of an international encounter eligible to play for the other side. But due to the Kosovan/Albanian diaspora to Switzerland, there were a number of starters who could easily have been wearing the opposition’s colours.
Indeed much of the pre-match hype was about two brothers – Granit and Taulant Xhaka – representing the Swiss and Albanians respectively in a rare case of split loyalties between siblings. But the focus of the first half was acutely upon Albania’s captain Lorik Cana for a ridiculous pair of booking which resulted in a sending off on 37 minutes.
https://twitter.com/Euros2016_News/status/741625725573304320
His first card was for a silly foul high up the pitch on the 23rd minute mark, as the Swiss were providing little threat to his side. His second was pure buffoonery that brought to mind some of Phil Jones’ more comical moments for Manchester United.
Contending with Haris Seferovic as a long pass came over to the Swiss forward, Cana completely lost sight of the ball as his focus was on the player, and he ended up slipping at the vital moment. At first he tried to dolphin-flop towards the ball, but when that came to nothing, he sprang out an arm.
It's real trouble for #ALB now in #EURO2016… What was Lorik Cana doing though… https://t.co/TJr15m4QiK https://t.co/10T0u5xh5F
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) June 11, 2016
It led to an inevitable red, and many viewers at home recalled Jones’ similarly prostate efforts. The difference is of course that the photogenic United man kept his arms firmly to his sides…
https://twitter.com/Jordan_Meyer1/status/741631396217683968
https://twitter.com/GBest7_/status/741626583417491457
Lorik Cana just went full Phil Jones
— Mike Devlin (@BlueWolf1894) June 11, 2016
Lorik Cana channelling his inner Phil Jones. Hasn’t quite mastered that particular skill yet.
— Thomas Coast (@thcoast) June 11, 2016
Cana gets first red of tournament after attending the Jones school of defending 😂😂😂
— Nige (@Nigenemo) June 11, 2016
