Ten days after his red card and elimination from the World Cup, Embolo breaks his silence

In the quarterfinal against Argentina, Breel Embolo dramatically goes down in the second half and is sent off with a yellow-red card following a VAR review. At that point, Switzerland was actually playing better; they had just tied the game at 1-1 and were on the verge of a major upset. Down a man, Embolo’s teammates fought heroically, managed to force the game into extra time, but ultimately conceded the knockout blow there. In the end, the Swiss national team lost 1–3.

«Embolo ist am Boden zerstört»

Murat Yakin tobt gegen den Schiri

Since then, there has been a lot of discussion in Switzerland about Embolo—and the referees. The 29-year-old himself, however, has remained silent for a long time. Now, ten days after the bitter World Cup exit, Embolo is reaching out to fans with an Instagram post.

"It took me a while to really come to terms with this loss. There are still no words to describe the disappointment I feel," Embolo writes.

"We'll come back stronger"

He also thanked everyone for their tremendous support: “I hope with all my heart that we made you proud during this World Championship. We gave it our all for this jersey, for our country, and for all of you. A huge thank you to the staff, my teammates, our families—who traveled such a long way to support us—and to the entire Swiss nation for your incredible love and support. That meant more to us than you can imagine.”

Of course, the disappointment still lingers, but we’re already looking ahead. Or as Embolo writes: “This loss hurts, but it won’t define us. Switzerland deserves great moments, and we’ll keep fighting to bring them to you. We’ll come back stronger. Switzerland will come back stronger.”

The question of why remains

One question, however, remains unanswered: Why did he let himself get carried away into that dive? Was he fed up with the Argentines’ constant kicking, or what was going on there? The point here isn’t to make Embolo a scapegoat. After all, it’s far from certain that Switzerland would have reached the semifinals without his red card.

«Es war gespenstisch ruhig»

Jetzt spricht Nati-Co-Trainer Callà über den zutiefst betrübten Embolo