Swiss bank on Sommer for World Cup squad

Switzerland coach Murat Takin named a 26-man squad for the World Cup on Wednesday with Borussia Moenchengladbach experienced goalkeeper Yann Sommer providing sound foundations.

Old guard stalwarts Granit Xhaka, Xherdan Shaqiri and front-line spearhead Breel Embolo stand out while two names not on the list are Steven Zuber and Kevin Mbabu.

Switzerland made the Euro 2020 quarter-finals by getting past France and will be buoyed by Sommer’s supreme penalty stopping talents should they reach the knock-out phase.

Yakin’s other star is the 25-year-old Embolo who has pace and power and can take his Monaco form into their Group G matches against his birth nation Cameroon, Brazil and Serbia.

For their fifth consecutive World Cup finals Switzerland can count upon highly experienced midfielders Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka.

Coach Yakin, 48, said the flexibilty of the squad was “more about the tactics we employ than the names on the list”.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Yann Sommer (Borussia Moenchengladbach/GER), Jonas Omlin (Montpellier/FRA), Gregor Kobel (Borussia Dortmund/GER), Philipp Koehn (Salzbourg/AUT).

Defenders: Manuel Akanji (Manchester City/ENG), Nico Elvedi (Borussia Moenchengladbach/GER), Fabian Schär (Newcastle United/ENG), Eray Coemert (Valencia/ESP), Silvan Widmer (Mainz/GER), Edimilson Fernandes (Mainz/GER), Ricardo Rodriguez (Torino/ITA).

Midfielders: Remo Freuler (Nottingham Forest/ENG), Granit Xhaka (Arsenal/ENG), Djibril Sow (Eintracht Frankfurt/GER), Michel Aebischer (Bologna/ITA), Fabian Frei (Basel), Denis Zakaria (Chelsea/ENG), Christian Fassnacht (Young Boys), Fabian Rieder (Young Boys), Ardon Jashari (Lucerne), Renato Steffen (Lugano).

Strikers: Breel Embolo (Monaco/FRA), Haris Seferovic (Galatasaray/TUR), Xherdan Shaqiri (Chicago Fire/USA), Noah Okafor (Salzbourg), Ruben Vargas (Augsbourg/GER).