On Friday evening, the Swiss U21s will play France - who are traveling to Lausanne with a star ensemble - as part of the 2027 European Championship qualifiers.
Mathys Tel (20, Tottenham), Leny Yoro (19, Manchester United), Ayyoub Bouaddi (18, Lille) - what reads like part of the starting line-up of a top European club is in fact the line-up that France will field against Switzerland in Lausanne on Friday evening in the qualifying match for the 2027 European Under-21 Championship in Albania and Serbia.
Although the market value of the three players mentioned is between 30 and 55 million euros and they are regulars at their clubs, they are still allowed to play at U21 level.
According to "Transfermarkt.ch", the total market value of the French team is around 320 million euros. By comparison, the Swiss senior national team has a market value of around 240 million euros - the U21 team has a market value of "only" around 36 million euros.
France's squad incl. market value (euros)
- Goalkeeper:
- Robin Risse (RC Lens), 5 million euros
- Ewen Jaouen (Stade Reims), 1.5 million euros
- Lisandru Olmeta (SC Bastia), 150 thousand euros
- Defense:
- Leny Yoro (Manchester United), 55 million
- Saël Kumbedi (VfL Wolfsburg), 7 million
- JérémyJacquet (FC Stade Rennes), 12 million
- Jeanuël Belocian (Bayer Leverkusen), 12 million
- Jaydee Canvot (Crystal Palace), 20 million
- Dayann Methalie (FC Toulouse), 4 million
- Nathan Zézé (NEOM SC), 15 million
- Midfield:
- Valentin Atangana (Al-Ahli FC), 10 million
- Ayyoub Bouaddi (LOSC Lille), 30 million
- Djaoui Cissé (FC Stade Rennes), 10 million
- Kevin Danois (AJ Auxerre), 10 million
- Lesley Ugochukwu (FC Burnley), 22 million
- Striker:
- Saïmon Bouabré (NEOM SC), 300 thousand
- Eli Junior Kroupi (AFC Bournemouth), 15 million
- Senny Mayulu (PSG), 25 million
- Kader Meïté (FC Stade Rennes), 8 million
- Lucas Michal (AS Monaco), 1 million
- Wilson Odobert (Tottenham Hotspur), 20 million
- Mathys Tel (Tottenham Hotspur), 35 million
Switzerland trembling for 2nd place
The Swiss U21 team also has one or two players who are already regulars in the first team. Instead of Tottenham, Lille and Manchester United, however, the clubs are FC Sion, FC St. Gallen and FC Lucerne. Zachary Athekame (8 million) is a player in the squad who plays for AC Milan.
It will be a difficult task for the young Swiss to defend their second place in Group C in their fourth qualifying match. The national team is currently just two points behind the Faroe Islands, who have played two games more. The Swiss conceded two points in the 0-0 draw against Iceland in mid-October.
France, on the other hand, have started the campaign with two clear wins against Estonia and the Faroe Islands. With a win, the French could already overtake Switzerland and catch up with the leaders on points.
