First, Murat Yakin surprises with his lineup – then the Swiss gratefully accept the Mexican gifts

Salt Lake City, the Mormon city in the American state of Utah, is actually a quiet, tranquil place, especially by American standards. But on Saturday afternoon, things get wild and loud in the east of the city at Rice-Eccles Stadium, where the Swiss soccer team will face Mexico.

There, a mariachi band is playing. Tequila commercials are flashing across the big screen. Mexican waves are rippling through the wide, uncovered arena. And down on the pitch, a game is unfolding that deserves attributes like entertaining or exciting, but one thing is certainly not: top-notch.

Six goals were scored in this match, although there could have been even more. The Swiss ultimately won 4-2. It was their second consecutive victory. They last achieved this a year ago, which says a lot about how the last few months have gone for them. It was also the first time in a year that they had scored four goals.

When Fabian Rieder scored the final goal in the 90th minute, the Swiss were overjoyed for the young Solothurn native. But they would be wise not to get too carried away with the victory, as so much had gone their way that afternoon.

Switzerland's fourth goal epitomizes this. It came about because the Mexicans gave the ball away in their own half. And because the Swiss were then lucky. Rieder shoots, but an opposing defender deflects the ball into the net.

This isn't the first time in this match that Mexico has played into the Swiss's hands. Although the Central Americans won the Nations League of their continental association Concacaf this spring, they aren't a good opponent, and certainly not a "very strong" one, as national coach Murat Yakin claimed after the match. The Mexicans contributed to two of Switzerland's four goals by giving the ball away in dangerous areas. They can't hide the fact that several of their regular players are on the bench, including captain Edson Álvarez.

The Swiss were fortunate in scoring another goal, as it was preceded by an offside position that went unpunished, as there was no video referee watching this friendly. They took the lead again after 64 minutes, 2-1, thanks to Zeki Amdouni, just as the game was threatening to slip away from them.

Before they walked into Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday, the Swiss had talked a lot this week about how important the trip to the United States was to them, the games against Mexico and the USA on Tuesday. And one thing has to be said for their credit: They're putting their money where their mouth is against Mexico.

There are plenty of adversities in Salt Lake City. The afternoon sun burns hotly in the sky. The track is dry and dull. The 40,000 spectators, almost all of them on the opposing side, are loud; there's a large Mexican community in the southwestern United States.

The Swiss approach all of this with the promised seriousness. Their defense may be somewhat inconsistent at times, but when they get the chance to score, they seize it.

Before the match, national coach Murat Yakin surprised everyone with his lineup. On the flight to the USA, Yakin had spoken about wanting to integrate Ardon Jashari into his midfield alongside veterans Granit Xhaka and Remo Freuler. He also said it was clear his team would defend with a back three; the squad was built accordingly.

Against Mexico, it won't be Jashari, who shone so brilliantly in Belgium last season, who will play alongside Xhaka and Freuler in the Swiss midfield, but Vincent Sierro. The Swiss will also defend with four, not three. And after the game, Yakin claims he can't remember having so clearly announced Jashari's inclusion in the starting lineup. Once again, it becomes clear that Yakin isn't a coach who plans ahead. Rather, he's one who is guided by instinct and intuition.

Jashari finally came on in the second half, replacing captain Xhaka. The 22-year-old did well, winning many challenges, being present, and boasting a nearly 100 percent pass completion rate. Overall, the Swiss team's second-half victory was encouraging. With the score at 1-1, Yakin substituted two more seasoned team pillars, Manuel Akanji and Breel Embolo, in the 62nd minute, after captain Xhaka and Ricardo Rodríguez. In total, they now lack the experience of 406 international matches. Nevertheless, the Swiss still won the game, which speaks volumes about the depth of their squad.

After the game, there are many happy Swiss faces to be seen in the catacombs of Rice-Eccles Stadium. There's Dan Ndoye, who once again demonstrated that he has become indispensable for the attack. There's Silvan Widmer, who was not in Yakin's squad recently and was now allowed to start at right-back. And there's Fabian Rieder, who, after a difficult season in Stuttgart, played the full 90 minutes and received high praise from Yakin, as did Aurèle Amenda, the center-back.

Both Amenda and Rieder are among the first winners of this trip, which continues on Tuesday in Nashville with the game against the USA.