Norwich duo Teemu Pukki and Josip Drmic have both issued the same message to their respective national sides ahead of crucial Euro 2020 qualifiers on Tuesday. Pukki and Drmic, who are yet to start together for Norwich, were both on the losing sides during the latest round of qualifying matches for next summer’s pan-European tournament.
Pukki’s Finland were trounced 4-1 by Bosnia-Herzegovina on Saturday in Group J while Drmic’s Swiss went down 1-0 to Denmark in a tight Group D affair in Copenhagen.
“We were a little under par,” admitted Pukki, who gave his own performance a similar rating. “I’m really disappointed in my own game. There was nothing good about it, I lost possession a little too much and gave poor passes.”
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However, the Canaries hitman told his team-mates to forget about their worst display of qualifying and remember that everything is still in their own hands – with Finland to host Armenia next.
Drmic, who came off the bench and scored City’s consolation in their 5-1 home defeat to Aston Villa just before the international break, said Switzerland must put the bitter feeling of losing to a late Denmark winner behind them quickly as they next face the Republic of Ireland on Tuesday in Geneva.
The 27-year-old said: “We have to keep the game against Denmark in the background, look forward to the next training and focus on the next task. We can not talk about the ambush. We have to learn from the mistakes and respond to the criticism.”
Drmic, who came on for the final minutes on Saturday, could be the recipient of a recall from national team boss Vladimir Petkovic as Switzerland need to find a reliable goalscorer.
Seven of their 10 goals in Euro 2020 qualifying have come from defenders and midfielders with Haris Sefarovic, who scored five in six Nations League games, seemingly having lost his goalscoring habit.
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