Switzerland announced its squad for the 2026 World Cup: Yakin relied on the experience of Xhaka, Rodriguez and Akanji
The Swiss Football Association has announced a list of 26 players for the 2026 World Cup, and head coach Murat Yakin has included in the final squad a team in which the reliance on proven key players is clearly visible. According to the association’s official list, published on 20 May 2026, those called up include captain Granit Xhaka, defender Ricardo Rodriguez, goalkeeper Gregor Kobel, centre-back Manuel Akanji and forward Breel Embolo. In its announcement of the Swiss squad, FIFA stated that Yakin had named an experienced national team, which is also confirmed by the number of appearances: Xhaka enters the national team with 144 matches, Rodriguez with 136, Freuler with 86, Embolo with 85, and Akanji with 79 appearances.
The list comes in the final phase of preparations for the tournament, which will be played from 11 June to 19 July 2026 in the United States of America, Canada and Mexico. According to FIFA data, it will be the first World Cup with 48 national teams and a total of 104 matches, which changes the weight of the group stage and increases the number of possible scenarios for reaching the knockout round. Switzerland has been placed in Group B with Canada, Qatar and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the match schedule takes it first to San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, then to Los Angeles Stadium and finally to Vancouver, where it will play against one of the tournament hosts.
The key players remain the backbone of the national team
Yakin’s list shows the continuity of a national team that has for years relied on a stable defensive structure, a hardworking midfield and the experience of players from strong European leagues. According to the official document of the Swiss Football Association, Granit Xhaka enters the tournament as the player with the most appearances in this squad, and at the same time he is the central figure of the team. Although in club football he has changed several environments and in the national team has gone through different generational cycles, his role remains similar: connecting defence and attack, controlling the rhythm and organising play in moments when Switzerland wants to slow down the opponent or build an attack through possession.
Alongside Xhaka, Remo Freuler, Michel Aebischer, Djibril Sow, Denis Zakaria, Fabian Rieder and Ardon Jashari should have important roles in the midfield line. According to the official list, Freuler had 86 appearances and 11 goals before the tournament, which makes him one of the most experienced players in the group of midfielders and forwards. Zakaria brings physical strength and the possibility of playing in several roles, while Rieder and Jashari represent the younger layer of the national team that should provide additional dynamism. Such a combination of experience and younger players is especially important in a format in which the rhythm of the competition and the distances between host cities can influence rotations.
In defence, the most recognisable names are Manuel Akanji and Ricardo Rodriguez. Akanji, who is listed as a player of Milan’s Internazionale, has for years been among the most important Swiss defenders and one of the players around whom the build-up from the back line is constructed. Rodriguez, meanwhile, with 136 appearances, is the second most experienced player in the squad, and his international career includes several major competitions and different tactical roles, from left-back to a player in a back three. Nico Elvedi, Eray Cömert, Silvan Widmer, Miro Muheim, Aurèle Amenda and Luca Jaquez have also been included in the defensive part of the squad.
Kobel leads the goalkeepers, Embolo the attack
In the goalkeeper positions, Yakin has called up Gregor Kobel, Yvon Mvogo and Marvin Keller. According to the official list, Kobel had 20 appearances for the national team before the tournament and entered the squad as the most experienced goalkeeper among the three called up. Mvogo brings additional experience with 12 appearances, while Keller, the Young Boys goalkeeper, is listed without an official appearance for the senior national team. Such a distribution points to a clear hierarchy, but also to the coaching staff’s desire for the third goalkeeper to be a more long-term option who can learn in the environment of a major tournament.
The attacking part of the squad is led by Breel Embolo, who according to data from the Swiss Football Association has 85 appearances and 23 goals. Embolo is the type of forward who enables Switzerland to play more directly, hold up the ball with his back to goal and attack space behind the defence. Alongside him, the attacking players include Zeki Amdouni, Noah Okafor, Dan Ndoye, Ruben Vargas, Christian Fassnacht, Cedric Itten and Johan Manzambi. Amdouni enters the national team with a record of 11 goals in 27 appearances, while Vargas has 60 appearances and 11 goals, which shows that Yakin has players at his disposal who can operate in different positions in the final third.
A particularly interesting part of the list concerns the younger players who are included alongside the experienced leaders. Johan Manzambi, born in 2005, according to the official list already has 10 appearances and three goals for the national team, which singles him out as one of the youngest names with a concrete contribution in the senior team. Aurèle Amenda and Luca Jaquez also belong to the younger defensive generation, and their inclusion in the final squad shows that Switzerland is not relying exclusively on players who have been regulars for years. In this way, Yakin maintains continuity, but at the same time opens space for a gradual generational change.
Switzerland in a group with host Canada, Qatar and Bosnia and Herzegovina
According to FIFA’s schedule, Switzerland will play its first match in Group B on 13 June against Qatar at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium. The second match is scheduled for 18 June against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Los Angeles, while the third group appearance is on 24 June against Canada at BC Place in Vancouver. The schedule is demanding both logistically and sportingly, because Switzerland travels between different cities during the group stage and faces three national teams with different profiles.
Qatar enters the group as an Asian national team with experience of organising the 2022 World Cup, but now without the advantage of home ground. Bosnia and Herzegovina brings a European style of play and a match that could be tactically closest for Switzerland to duels from the qualifiers. Canada will have the home context in the final round and probably strong support from the stands in Vancouver, which makes the final group match particularly important. FIFA’s schedule confirms that the other group match, Bosnia and Herzegovina against Qatar in Seattle, will also be played at the same time on 24 June, so the end of the group could depend on parallel results.
The competition format additionally increases the importance of every point. In the expanded edition of the tournament, 48 national teams are arranged into 12 groups, and the group winners and runners-up, as well as the best third-placed national teams, advance to the knockout stage, according to FIFA’s competition format. For a team like Switzerland, which in recent years has often been stable enough to get through the group, this means that the threshold for continuing in the competition will be different than at tournaments with 32 participants. Still, in such a format an opening defeat can have different consequences than before, while victory in the first round can significantly simplify the path towards the knockout round.
The qualifiers confirmed the continuity of the Swiss national team
Switzerland secured qualification for the World Cup as the winner of its European qualifying group. According to UEFA data, it finished the group with 14 points from six matches, with a goal difference of plus 12, ahead of Kosovo, Slovenia and Sweden. In November 2025, FIFA announced that a 1:1 draw in Kosovo confirmed Switzerland’s qualification and its sixth consecutive appearance at World Cups. That fact well describes the position of a national team that is not always counted among the main favourites, but is continuously present in the final stages of major competitions.
For Yakin, this is an important argument ahead of the tournament. The stability of results in the qualifiers allowed him, when selecting the squad, to rely on players who know the system and the pressure of international matches. At the same time, the qualifying cycle showed that Switzerland can dominate a group without pronounced fluctuations, although the final draw in Kosovo shows that at the World Cup it will have to be more precise in matches in which the opponent waits for a mistake. In Group B, it will not have opponents that can be taken lightly, especially because of the different styles of play and the conditions of the tournament in North America.
At the previous World Cup in 2022, Switzerland reached the round of 16, which FIFA mentioned in the context of its new qualification. Such results create expectations that progressing from the group is not considered a surprise but a realistic goal. However, to make a step towards a later stage of the tournament, more will be needed than organised defence and experience in midfield. The key will be how much the attacking part of the team takes its chances, especially in matches in which Switzerland has more possession, but less space behind the opposing defence.
List of players by position
According to the official list of the Swiss Football Association, Yakin has registered the following 26 players for the 2026 World Cup:
- Goalkeepers: Marvin Keller, Gregor Kobel, Yvon Mvogo.
- Defenders: Manuel Akanji, Aurèle Amenda, Eray Cömert, Nico Elvedi, Luca Jaquez, Miro Muheim, Ricardo Rodriguez, Silvan Widmer.
- Midfielders and forwards: Michel Aebischer, Zeki Amdouni, Breel Embolo, Christian Fassnacht, Remo Freuler, Cedric Itten, Ardon Jashari, Johan Manzambi, Dan Ndoye, Noah Okafor, Fabian Rieder, Djibril Sow, Ruben Vargas, Granit Xhaka, Denis Zakaria.
In the association’s official document, midfielders and forwards are listed in a joint category, which reflects the modern flexibility of the Swiss team. Several players can cover multiple roles, especially in systems in which wide forwards drop into midfield or midfielders move high into pressing. Ndoye and Vargas bring width and penetration, Amdouni and Okafor can play closer to the striker or from wide positions, while Embolo and Itten offer more classic attacking characteristics. In such a structure, Yakin has the possibility of adapting to opponents without major changes to the team’s basic identity.
Reserve list and squad depth
The Swiss association has also published a reserve list of players, which is important in the period before the start of the tournament because injuries, form and administrative deadlines can affect the final availability of players. Among the reserves, according to the official document, are Zachary Athekame, Adrian Bajrami, Sascha Britschgi, Kwadwo Duah, Ulisses Garcia, Michael Heule, Kastriot Imeri, Philipp Köhn, Pascal Loretz, Ethan Meichtry, Joël Monteiro, Bruno Ogbus, Jonas Omlin, Anthony Racioppi, Alvyn Sanches, Isaac Schmidt, Vincent Sierro, Simon Sohm, Filip Ugrinic, Alessandro Vogt, David von Ballmoos, Andi Zeqiri and Cédric Zesiger.
The reserve list shows how broad the base of players is on which Yakin can rely in the event of changes. It includes goalkeepers with experience, players from Swiss clubs, but also footballers from the top five leagues and other European championships. In the context of a tournament played across a large geographical area, squad depth and the ability to react in time to injuries can be an important logistical and sporting factor. Although the reserve players are not part of the main list of 26, their presence in the official document confirms that the staff is monitoring a wider group of footballers until the beginning of the competition.
Yakin’s challenge: turning experience into a step forward
Murat Yakin leads a national team that has a recognisable identity, but also a clear boundary it wants to cross. In recent history, Switzerland has often been an awkward opponent for bigger national teams, but for a deeper result at the World Cup it will have to combine defensive reliability with greater efficiency in attack. The experience of Xhaka, Rodriguez, Akanji, Freuler and Embolo can be crucial in matches in which details decide qualification, but a tournament with 48 national teams also brings a different dynamic, a longer path through the knockout stage and more room for surprises.
For Switzerland, the opening group is both an opportunity and a risk. On paper it has enough quality to fight for one of the first two places, but Canada’s host status, Qatar’s ambition and the European solidity of Bosnia and Herzegovina make the group uncomfortable. Yakin’s selection therefore does not look like an experiment, but like an attempt to go to a major tournament with players who understand the demands of national-team football. According to the available information, experience was precisely one of the main features with which both FIFA and the Swiss association described the announced squad.
Sources:
- FIFA – announcement of the Swiss squad for the 2026 World Cup and preview of key players (link)
- Swiss Football Association – official list of players for the 2026 World Cup, updated on 20 May 2026 (link)
- FIFA – official match schedule of the 2026 World Cup and competition format with 104 matches (link)
- UEFA – data on the qualifying group and Switzerland’s qualification for the 2026 World Cup (link)
- FIFA – announcement of Switzerland’s confirmed qualification for the 2026 World Cup after the draw in Kosovo (link)