Veteran midfielder Xhaka to lead Switzerland at World Cup

Veteran midfielder Granit Xhaka will take part in his seventh successive major international tournament after he was named in Switzerland’s World Cup squad on Wednesday.

The 33-year-old national team captain is one of five players contracted to English Premier League clubs in coach Murat Yakin’s 26-man squad.

Amongst those is Burnley forward Zeki Amdouni, the only real surprise inclusion in the squad, who has played just 45 minutes of football this season in three brief substitute appearances as he works his way back from a ruptured cruciate knee ligament.

“He’s not yet at 100 percent but he knows how we play, he knows the systems, the moves, his role,” said Yakin.

Switzerland have reached the last 16 of the last three World Cup tournaments and the quarter-finals of the last two European Championships.

They will play warm-up matches against Jordan (May 31) and Australia (June 6), before beginning their Group B campaign against Qatar in San Francisco on June 13.

They will also play against Bosnia-Herzegovina on June 18 and Canada on June 24.

Squad

Goalkeepers: Gregor Kobel (Borussia Dortmund/GER), Marvin Keller (Young Boys/SUI), Yvon Mvogo (Lorient/FRA)

Defenders: Ricardo Rodriguez (Real Betis/ESP), Silvan Widmer (Mainz/GER), Manuel Akanji (Inter Milan/ITA), Miro Muheim (Hamburg/GER), Nico Elvedi (Borussia Moenchengladbach/GER), Aurele Amenda (Eintracht Frankfurt/GER), Luca Jaquez (Stuttgart/GER), Eray Comert (Valencia/ESP)

Midfielders: Johan Manzambi (Freiburg/GER), Granit Xhaka (Sunderland/ENG), Remo Freuler (Bologna/ITA), Denis Zakaria (Monaco/FRA), Ardon Jashari (AC Milan/ITA), Michel Aebischer (Pisa/ITA), Djibril Sow (Sevilla/ESP), Christian Fassnacht (Young Boys/SUI), Fabian Rieder (Augsburg/GER)

Forwards: Noah Okafor (Leeds/ENG), Dan Ndoye (Nottingham Forest/ENG), Zeki Amdouni (Burnley/ENG), Breel Embolo (Rennes/FRA), Ruben Vargas (Sevilla/ESP), Cedric Itten (Fortuna Duesseldorf/GER)