BERN, Switzerland (AP) — Switzerland forward Zeki Amdouni was picked in the World Cup squad Tuesday with less than one hour of playing time all season after a serious knee injury.
Amdouni’s appearance at Arsenal on Monday as a late substitute for Burnley was just his third game off the bench this month since recovering from an ACL rupture last July.
A solid record of 11 goals in 27 national-team games helped Amdouni earn a place in Switzerland coach Murat Yakin’s 26-man squad that should be favored in a group with co-host Canada, 2022 host Qatar and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The 26 names were revealed over two days in a social media campaign, with fans invited to find them hidden in a series of photographs of Swiss residents at their workplaces.
Granit Xhaka will lead the team as captain at what is the 33-year-old former Arsenal and Bayer Leverkusen midfielder’s fourth straight World Cup to extend his national record of 144 games.
Yakin made surprise picks with attacking options Christian Fassnacht and Cedric Itten, who each played just a handful of minutes for Switzerland since 2023.
Fassnacht, the 18-goal top scorer in the national league this season, and his Young Boys teammate, goalkeeper Marvin Keller, are the only players selected from clubs in Switzerland. Swiss champion Thun is not represented.
Inter Milan defender Manuel Akanji just won a Serie A title and Johan Manzambi will play for Freiburg in the Europa League final Wednesday against Aston Villa.
Manzambi made an instant impact against World Cup co-hosts in the United States last June. The 20-year-old prospect debuted in a 4-2 win over Mexico then scored in a 4-0 rout of the U.S.
Switzerland
Goalkeepers: Gregor Kobel (Borussia Dortmund), Yvon Mvogo (Lorient), Marvin Keller (Young Boys)
Defenders: Manuel Akanji (Inter Milan), Nico Elvedi (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Ricardo Rodriguez (Real Betis), Silvan Widmer (Mainz), Miro Muheim (Hamburger SV), Aurèle Amenda (Eintracht Frankfurt), Eray Cömert (Valencia), Luca Jaquez (Stuttgart)
Midfielders: Granit Xhaka (Sunderland), Johan Manzambi (Freiburg), Remo Freuler (Bologna), Denis Zakaria (Monaco), Ardon Jashari (AC Milan), Djibril Sow (Sevilla), Christian Fassnacht (Young Boys), Michel Aebischer (Pisa), Fabian Rieder (Augsburg), Rubén Vargas (Sevilla)
Forwards: Breel Embolo (Rennes), Noah Okafor (Leeds), Dan Ndoye (Nottingham Forest), Zeki Amdouni (Burnley), Cedric Itten (Fortuna Dusseldorf)
AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Dirk van Ulden said:
Dirk van Ulden said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.