The Swiss national team celebrates its first win of the year in a friendly against Jordan. Coach Murat Yakin's team was clearly superior in the 4:1 win in St. Gallen.
Deep into injury time of the first half, the Norwegian referee Rohit Saggi runs to the TV set on the sideline again. There he sees that the intervention on Breel Embolo was a foul after all. And so captain Granit Xhaka takes the ball and gives Switzerland a 3-0 lead in the tenth(!) minute of stoppage time. It was the end of a dominant half in which Switzerland largely had everything under control.
The first goal of the game came from the penalty spot. After Remo Freuler was hit on the foot by the Jordanian goalkeeper, Embolo stepped up and scored his 24th goal for the national team. Five minutes later, Dan Ndoye made it 2:0 after a perfect assist from Michel Aebischer.
Ndoye, who has had a difficult season at Nottingham Forest, once again boosted his confidence in the national team: it was his sixth goal in his last ten appearances for Switzerland.
Mvogo and Manzambi stand out
Goalkeeper Yvon Mvogo, the Swiss goalkeeper of the first half, was only really challenged once: After half an hour, Xhaka overlooked an opponent on the return pass, who took the ball and ran straight at Mvogo. However, the nominal number two in the Swiss goal showed that he can be relied upon in an emergency: Mvogo blocked Mousa Al-Tamari's shot with his foot, ensuring that the captain's lapse was not punished.
Alongside Mvogo, Johan Manzambi in particular stood out in the first half. The SC Freiburg midfielder seemed to occupy a hybrid position in the national team: He could be found practically everywhere. He almost rewarded his good performance with a goal, but his shot in the 23rd minute bounced off the post.
Also noticeable: apart from a few positioning errors, the three-man defense around Denis Zakaria, Manuel Akanji and Nico Elvedi was flawless. After the 0-0 draw in Norway, coach Yakin opted for this trio in defense for the second time in a row. However, the Jordanians only made limited demands on them.
Honorary goal for Jordan
The World Cup debutants from the Middle East proved to be more competitive in the second half, although the game lost momentum noticeably due to the many changes on both sides. Substitute Odeh Fakhoury opened the scoring in the 52nd minute when he beat Marvin Keller, also a substitute, with a low shot on his national team debut. Shortly afterwards, the visitors were a little too happy about a supposed penalty. However, the TV footage clearly showed that the ball bounced off Silvan Widmer's back and not his hand.
The final goal was scored by Christian Fassnacht in the 79th minute to make it 4:1. The ensuing thunderstorm caused the game to be interrupted in the 88th minute, which the players initially interpreted as the final whistle. After a break, the teams returned to the pitch to play out the remaining three minutes.
With the victory, Switzerland completed the first part of their World Cup preparations. The players will enjoy a day off on Monday, then on Tuesday the team will travel to San Diego and move into base camp. A final test match is scheduled there on Saturday, June 6, against Australia. A week later, the World Cup begins for Switzerland with a group match against Qatar.
Comments on the match
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Switzerland - Jordan 4:1 (3:0)
St. Gallen. - 13'380 spectators. - SR Saggi (NOR). -
Goals: 28. Embolo (penalty) 1:0. 33. Ndoye 2:0. 45. Xhaka (penalty) 3:0. 52. Fakhoury 3:1. 79. Fassnacht 4:1.
Switzerland: Mvogo (46. Keller); Zakaria (46. Jaquez), Akanji (61. Cömert), Elvedi (46. Rodriguez); Ndoye (46. Widmer), Freuler (46. Jashari), Xhaka (61. Sow), Aebischer (61. Muheim); Manzambi (46. Amdouni), Embolo (72. Itten), Vargas (46. Fassnacht).
Jordan: Abulaila; Al-Rosan (46. Badawi), Abualnadi (46. Obaid), Alarab (88. Abu Dahab); Haddad (78. Al-Dawoud), Alrawabdeh (78. Qashi), Al-Rashdan (61. Abu Hashish), Abu Taha (78. Taha); Al-Tamari (61. Al-Azaizeh), Olwan (46. Fakhoury), Al-Mardi (46. Sa'deh).
Remarks: Switzerland without Kobel, Rieder and Okafor (all injured).
The ticker for review
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Liveticker
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Liveticker closed
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90
Now it's over in St.Gallen
The remaining three minutes are up and referee Saggi has officially brought the game to an end.
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88
The ball is rolling again at Kybunpark
The last three minutes are now to be played out.
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The game is to continue after all
The game is not over after all. The missing three minutes will be added on as soon as the rain subsides.
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88.
Saggi ends the game prematurely due to the weather
Switzerland clearly beat Jordan 4-1 and set a small exclamation mark before leaving for North America.
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78.
Goal. Christian Fassnacht makes it 4:1 for Switzerland
The Bernese player takes advantage of an inconsistency in the Jordanian defense and restores the gap.
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70.
Drink break
The Nati are controlling the game, but the chances are lacking. Yakin makes another change. Cedric Itten comes on for Embolo.
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61.
Next change for Switzerland
Akanji, Xhaka and Aebischer leave the pitch. They are replaced by Cömert, Sow and Muheim.
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57.
VAR concedes a penalty for Jordan
Referee Saggi points to the penalty spot for the third time. Widmer is said to have received the ball on the arm. But after the VAR check, the penalty is conceded as the ball hit the defender's back.
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52
Goal. Al-Fakhouri scores the equalizer for Jordan
Up front, Amdouni and Fassnacht miss the best chances to score another goal for Switzerland and they promptly find the back of the net. Al-Fakhouri scores for the visitors to make it 1:3.
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46
Yakin makes a change
Mvogo, Vargas, Ndoye, Freuler, Manzambi, Elvedi and Zakaria are replaced by Keller, Fassnacht, Amdouni, Jashari, Rodriguez, Widmer and Jaquez. This is Marvin Keller's first game in goal for the national team.
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46
The game continues in St.Gallen
The ball is rolling again at Kybunpark.
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45
Comfortable lead for the Nati at the break
The Nati lead 3-0 at the break. The Jordanians' defense held firm for a long time before Embolo gave them the lead with a penalty. Only a short time later, the visitors had a great chance to equalize. However, Al-Taamari was unable to get the ball past Mvogo after a disastrous misplaced pass from Granit Xhaka. Shortly afterwards, Dan Ndoye made it 2:0 after a fantastic pass from Aebischer, before Granit Xhaka made it 3:0 at the break with his second penalty of the game.
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45
Goal. Xhaka makes it 3:0 with a penalty.
Next penalty for the Nati. Embolo is brought down in the penalty area and after another VAR check, another penalty kick is awarded. This time Granit Xhaka takes the penalty and also converts it safely.
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45
In stoppage time
7 minutes are added on.
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33
Goal. Ndoye makes it 2:0
Aebischer finds Ndoye with a great pass into the box. He is through on the right and keeps his cool in front of goal to make it 2:0 for the national team.
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30
Jordan misses the equalizer
After a disastrous back pass, Al-Taamari appears completely free in front of the Swiss goal. But the striker's shot fails to beat Mvogo. Lucky for the national team and especially for Xhaka, whose mistake is not punished.
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28
Goal. Embolo puts the Nati 1-0 ahead with a penalty
After a long wait, the Nati are awarded a penalty. Breel Embolo takes the spot-kick and converts it with aplomb to take the lead. His 24th goal for the national team.
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23
Manzambi misses the lead
The SC Freiburg professional misses the post with his shot. The Nati almost took the lead. Just moments later, Freuler is played clear in front of goal and is brought down. The VAR checks for a penalty.
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19
Xhaka tries from the second row
After Ndoye dribbles down the right, Manzambi releases Xhaka in a central position on the edge of the penalty area. The captain tries with his left foot, but his shot goes just over the bar.
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12
Nati still lack the decisive idea
Murat Yakin's team control the game in the early stages. So far, however, they are still lacking the decisive idea in the final third of the pitch to get in front of Jordan's goal.
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4
Jordan with the first shot
The visitors have the first good chance of the game. Haddad is forgotten on the right and simply tries his luck. However, Mvogo has no problem keeping out the unmarked shot.
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1
The ball is rolling at Kybunpark
Referee Rohit Saggi gives the go-ahead.
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The line-ups of the two teams
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Beware of Al-Tamari
The Jordan team, which has been coached by Moroccan coach Jamal Sellami since June 2024, is without any big names. The best-known player in Europe is Mousa Al-Tamari, who has been playing in France for three years. The 28-year-old winger has been under contract with Rennes since February 2025, where he is team-mates with Breel Embolo. This season, Al-Tamari has scored seven goals and provided eleven assists, while Embolo has scored ten goals and provided three assists.
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Opportunity for players from the second tier
Is Switzerland ready for the World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the USA? It seems unlikely that there will be an answer to this question on Sunday. After all, the week in St. Gallen was more of a relaxed warm-up than meticulous preparation. This was due to the fact that the players arrived at the camp in eastern Switzerland in dribs and drabs. Most of those who were still in action on the Whitsun weekend only joined the team on Thursday. Among them are key players Granit Xhaka, Remo Freuler, Manuel Akanji and Ricardo Rodriguez.
This means that a number of players from the second tier will get the chance to prove themselves. Murat Yakin already announced the day before the game that he intends to make use of the opportunity to substitute all eleven players. Third goalkeeper Marvin Keller is also set to make his national team debut today.
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Hello ...
and welcome to the test match between Switzerland and Jordan. It is the first test for Murat Yakin's team before the World Cup opener against Qatar on June 13. A second test will follow next Saturday against Australia in San Diego. Kick-off in St.Gallen is at 15:00.
