Switzerland boss Yakin calls up four Serie A players for Nations League

Switzerland head coach Murat Yakin has named a 25-player squad for the September-October Nations League fixtures, featuring four Serie A-based players including Inter's Manuel Akanji and Milan's Ardon Jashari.

Murat Yakin has announced the Switzerland squad for the upcoming Nations League fixtures. The national team head coach has selected 25 players, including four who currently play in Italy's Serie A.

Switzerland will play four Nations League matches in this window. They travel to face North Macedonia on September 26 before hosting Scotland in Zurich three days later. October brings a home game against Slovenia on the 3rd and the return fixture in North Macedonia on the 6th.

Serie A Experience Featured

Among the call-ups, the four Serie A-based players are a notable feature. In defence, Yakin has selected Inter's Manuel Akanji, who has 87 caps. Torino provides two more defenders in Eray Cömert and Ricardo Rodriguez. Rodriguez only returned to Torino for his second spell at the club earlier this month and is Switzerland's second-most capped player with 144 appearances. Captain Granit Xhaka remains the record holder with 152 caps.

From AC Milan's midfield, young Ardon Jashari receives a call-up. Also included is Zachary Athekame, currently on loan from Milan to Lyon. Serie A experience in the squad is further bolstered by former league players like Denis Zakaria and the ex-Bologna trio of Remo Freuler, Michel Aebischer and Dan Ndoye.

Compact Squad Before World Cup Push

Yakin has opted for a relatively compact squad of 25 players. For context, the permitted squad size for the World Cup is 26. Other national team coaches, such as Germany's Jürgen Klopp and Italy's Roberto Mancini, have reportedly named significantly larger groups.

The selection comes during a positive period for the Swiss side. In the ongoing World Cup qualification, the Nati top the table with seven points from three games and hold a three-point lead over Canada. The top scorer this season is Johan Manzambi with three goals in four appearances. The next task is the away match in North Macedonia on September 26. The full squad list and further statistics are available on our squad page.

In goal, Yakin and his staff will rely on Marvin Keller, Gregor Kobel and Yvon Mvogo. The defence is completed by Aurele Amenda, Adrian Bajrami, Sascha Britschgi, Nico Elverdi and Zachary Athekame. The forward line features Zeki Amdouni, Winsley Boteli, Breel Embolo, Cedric Itten and Alvyn Sanches. The squad was announced via the Swiss Football Association's official channels in the three national languages of German, French and Italian.