Embolo granted approval to travel to the USA: Swiss striker joins the national team after a two-day delay
The Swiss Football Association has announced that Breel Embolo has been granted a visa to enter the United States of America, resolving a two-day problem that had temporarily separated the striker from the rest of the national team ahead of the 2026 World Cup. According to a report by the Associated Press, the 29-year-old international is expected to travel to the USA on Friday, June 5, 2026, and join his teammates at the American base later the same day, in the evening local time. The Swiss national team is already in San Diego, where it is continuing its final preparations for the tournament, which will be played in the USA, Canada and Mexico. The case attracted attention because Embolo is one of the most important forwards in coach Murat Yakin’s team and because the administrative delay occurred immediately before the national team’s departure from Zürich to Los Angeles. According to available information, the federation remained in contact with the relevant authorities during the procedure, and after travel was approved there is no longer any obstacle preventing the player from joining the final phase of preparations.
Embolo did not travel with the team on Tuesday, June 2, when the Swiss delegation was scheduled, according to the official plan, to depart from Zürich for Los Angeles. According to the Associated Press, the reason was that his travel authorization had been blocked while U.S. authorities conducted additional checks into the circumstances of an earlier case from 2018. The Swiss federation had previously stated that Embolo could not travel with the national team at that moment, and later announced that his visa had been approved. This brought to an end, at least for the Swiss sporting staff, the most sensitive phase of a case that emerged at a time when national teams usually try to avoid any off-field uncertainty. Although it was a short delay, the timing was particularly inconvenient because the World Cup is approaching, and Switzerland still has a final preparatory match before its first game.
Why the trip was stopped
According to the Associated Press report, Embolo was prevented from boarding the flight from Zürich to Los Angeles because U.S. authorities wanted to verify whether the incident for which he had previously been prosecuted was non-violent in nature. According to the same source, it concerned a verbal altercation in central Basel in 2018, and the verdict in that case became final after an appeal procedure only in April 2026. Publicly available information gives no indication that the Swiss striker had been removed from national-team plans; the problem related to entry into the USA and the documentation required for travel. In such circumstances, the Swiss staff had to continue its preparation plan without a player who, in sporting terms, is projected as one of the key attacking assets. Since the visa has now been approved, the focus returns to his physical condition, training rhythm and ability to integrate as quickly as possible into the team’s work ahead of the opening matches.
The case also showed the difference between a sporting squad list and the administrative conditions for entering the host country. FIFA’s announcement of the Swiss squad confirms that Embolo is among the 26 players selected for the tournament by Murat Yakin, and the official website of the Swiss Football Association lists him among the forwards of the senior national team. However, status in the national team does not automatically resolve the question of entry into the country where part of the tournament is being played. The U.S. Department of State, in its instructions for the Visa Waiver Program, states that travellers must have valid ESTA approval before boarding an aircraft or ship bound for the USA, and that travel authorization in itself does not guarantee entry into the country because the final decision upon entry is made by officers of the U.S. border service. In Embolo’s case, according to the AP report, after the initial problem with travel authorization, the solution came through visa approval.
An important player in the most sensitive phase of preparations
Embolo brings to the national team experience from major competitions and the status of a striker who can play with his back to goal, attack space and create pressure on the opposing defence. The Associated Press states that he is going to his third World Cup and that he is Switzerland’s first choice at the top of the attack. For coach Murat Yakin, this is not an insignificant detail, because ahead of the tournament several different rhythms have to be coordinated: players are coming from club seasons, some are carrying minor injuries or fatigue, and the final training sessions serve to connect the lines tactically. Every missed day in camp therefore carries weight, especially for forwards who depend on automatisms with midfielders and wingers. Still, given that he is expected to join on Friday evening local time, his absence should remain limited to the initial part of the American phase of preparations.
Switzerland began its preparations for the tournament in St. Gallen, where, according to the federation’s official schedule, it stayed from May 25 to June 1. The federation announced that the team used the infrastructure of FC St. Gallen there, the same facilities the national team had also used ahead of the 2024 European Championship. Before leaving for the USA, Switzerland played a friendly match against Jordan in St. Gallen on May 31 and won 4:1, which was an important competitive test before the journey to North America. According to the official calendar, the Zürich - Los Angeles flight was scheduled for June 2, after which the national team’s base was set up in San Diego. It was precisely at that transition between the European and American phases of preparations that the problem with Embolo’s travel arose.
Switzerland’s schedule leaves little room for waiting
According to the official schedule of the Swiss Football Association, the national team plays a friendly match against Australia on Saturday, June 6, at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego. That match comes only one day after Embolo’s expected arrival in the USA, so it is not certain what role he could have if the coaching staff decides to use him at all. In situations like this, coaches often weigh the benefit of minutes in a friendly match against the risk of overloading too quickly a player who has gone through a long journey and several days of uncertainty. It is more important for Switzerland that the striker be ready for the start of the tournament than that he necessarily play significant minutes in the friendly. The final decision will be made by Yakin and his staff after assessing the player’s condition upon his arrival in camp.
Switzerland’s first match at the World Cup is scheduled for June 13 against Qatar at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium in Santa Clara, according to the federation’s official schedule and FIFA’s competition calendar. That will be followed by a match against Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 18 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, and then a match against Canada on June 24 at BC Place in Vancouver. The schedule means that Switzerland will already be travelling between the USA and Canada during the group stage, which further increases the importance of documentation being resolved on time and stable logistics. FIFA has announced that the 2026 tournament will be played from June 11 to July 19 and will comprise 104 matches, making it the largest edition of the World Cup so far. For national teams such as Switzerland, which traditionally target progression from the group and an attempt to make a breakthrough in the knockout stage, every detail of preparation can carry sporting significance.
Administrative problem resolved before the start of the tournament
The most important circumstance for Switzerland is that the problem was resolved before the first official match of the tournament. Had the procedure dragged on, Yakin would have found himself in a far more complex situation because he would have had to prepare the opener against Qatar without clear information on whether he could count on his central striker. As it stands, Embolo, according to the announcement reported by AP, will have one week until the first group match, although that period will have to include acclimatization, training and possible recovery after travel. In the short term, the Swiss staff must assess whether to include him in the rhythm immediately or gradually. In the long term, Embolo is expected to be one of the players who give Switzerland attacking depth and experience in high-pressure matches.
The case is also a reminder that the 2026 World Cup has an exceptionally complex organizational structure. The tournament is being played for the first time in three host countries, and some national teams will have to change cities, time zones and countries during the group stage. FIFA has presented the schedule as a model that seeks to reduce unnecessary travel and take players’ rest into account, but national teams must still deal with the usual administrative, security and logistical requirements. When such a problem happens to a player who is among the core figures of the team, it quickly moves beyond the limits of routine procedure and becomes a sporting issue. In Embolo’s case, the outcome is favourable for Switzerland because the delay was reduced to two days, rather than uncertainty stretching all the way to the very start of the competition.
What the case means for the Swiss national team
In recent years, Switzerland has earned a reputation as a stable tournament national team, capable of playing disciplined, tactically mature and competitively solid football against different types of opponents. In such a system, a striker like Embolo has a role that goes beyond the number of goals. He can hold the ball under pressure, open space for midfield runners, occupy centre-backs and give the team an outlet in moments when the opponent presses high. That is why his presence is important even when he is not directly the scorer. For a team that faces Qatar, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Canada in the group, variety in attacking solutions could be decisive in matches in which rhythm, possession and physical intensity will change from one encounter to the next.
According to the federation’s official website, among the forwards of the Swiss senior national team alongside Embolo are Mohamed Amdouni, Christian Fassnacht, Cedric Itten, Dan Ndoye and Ruben Vargas, giving Yakin several options. Still, a list of forwards does not mean that the roles are equal. Embolo is, according to AP, projected as the first striker, and his experience from previous major competitions is particularly valuable in a team that combines proven players with those for whom this will be a first appearance on the biggest stage. FIFA, in its announcement of the Swiss squad, highlighted that the team also includes experienced players Granit Xhaka, Ricardo Rodriguez, Manuel Akanji, Gregor Kobel and Denis Zakaria, showing that Yakin has at his disposal a core that already understands the pressure of major tournaments. In that framework, Embolo’s return to camp does not merely mean filling a place in attack, but also restoring one of the recognizable elements of Switzerland’s playing identity.
For now, according to available information, the Swiss federation has resolved the most important question: Embolo can travel and is expected in camp. The next step is no longer administrative but sporting. If he joins without additional difficulties, the national team will enter the final week before the meeting with Qatar almost according to the original plan, with the exception of a short disruption that has already attracted international attention. For Switzerland, this is the best possible outcome after an unpleasant start to the American phase of preparations. For Embolo, it is an opportunity for the issue of his border status to be replaced as soon as possible by the reason he was called up for the tournament in the first place: his role in the national team’s attack at the World Cup.
Sources:
- Associated Press / NDTV Sports – report on the approval of Embolo’s visa, the two-day travel delay and the circumstances of the previously blocked authorization (link)
- Swiss Football Association – official schedule of preparations, travel and matches of the Swiss national team ahead of the 2026 World Cup (link)
- Swiss Football Association – official senior national team page and list of players by position (link)
- FIFA – official announcement of Switzerland’s squad for the 2026 World Cup and context of Murat Yakin’s selection (link)
- FIFA – official schedule and basic information about the 2026 World Cup, including dates and competition format (link)
- U.S. Department of State – official information on the Visa Waiver Program and ESTA approval for travel to the USA (link)