Nati coach Murat Yakin will present his 26-man squad for the first match on Thursday. Xhaka and Akanji will be missing, but Lausanne artist Alvyn Sanches will be included for the first time, as blue Sport has learned.
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- Murat Yakin will announce his squad for the first national team camp of the year on Thursday. The camp starts on Monday in Faro (Portugal) and will be played in Northern Ireland and in St. Gallen against Luxembourg.
- The Nati will be without their leaders Granit Xhaka and Manuel Akanji for these games.
- According to blue Sport, Lausanne high-flyer Alvyn Sanches will be called up to the senior squad for the first time. And with Lucas Blondel, a new defender will even fly in from Argentina.
On Thursday at 14:00, Murat Yakin will announce his line-up for the first national team squad in 2025 at the Haus des Schweizer Fussball in Muri near Bern.
The plan includes a short training camp in Faro, southern Portugal, starting next Monday, as well as two test matches - the first on Friday, March 21 in Northern Ireland, the second on Tuesday against Luxembourg in St. Gallen.
Leaders Xhaka and Akanji stay at home
In consultation with Yakin, captain Granit Xhaka will skip these dates. The Leverkusen star and his wife Leonita are about to become parents for the third time. It is likely that Ardon Jashari (22) will take Xhaka's place against Northern Ireland and/or Luxembourg. The youngster would have earned this chance with his great performances with Brugge. Because of his style of play and demeanor, he is regarded as Xhaka's legitimate successor as national team leader.
Defensive boss Manuel Akanji will also be absent. The reason for his absence is more unpleasant: the Man City defender will be out until the end of April following adductor surgery.
Lausanne high-flyer Sanches is rewarded
As serious as the withdrawals are, they give Yakin the chance to sift through new players in the short camp and in the tests. There is only one more national team camp left in the summer before the World Cup qualifiers in the fall.
And Yakin seems ready to open the doors of the national team to newcomers. As blue Sport has learned, Alvyn Sanches will be called up to the senior squad for the first time. The 22-year-old gem from Lausanne is one of the high-flyers in the Super League this season: 11 goals, 4 assists, countless successful dribbles so far. He has also won the most duels and been fouled the most. blue Sport ran the headline back in October 2024: "Alvyn Sanches - nobody makes football look easier" and asked: "When will he be called up for the national team?"
Now, almost five months later, the time has come. Sanches' market value, which according to Transfermarkt has skyrocketed from CHF 2.5 million to CHF 9 million in a short space of time, is likely to rise further with the call-up.
Argentinian Blondel also on the move
Sanches has long been well known in Switzerland. This is not (yet) the case for the other newcomer. Lucas Blondel, 28-year-old right-back from Argentinian top club Boca Juniors, will also be checking into the Nati hotel in the Algarve. Yakin visited Blondel, who is regarded as a technically adept defender with pace up front, in his native Buenos Aires a few weeks ago(blue Sport reported). The son of former Vaudois tennis player Jean-Yves Blondel speaks French as well as Spanish.
What about the returning Fassnacht and Zuber?
We will find out on Thursday whether more newcomers have been called up by Yakin and whether Super League returnees such as Steven Zuber (FCZ) or Christian Fassnacht (YB) have played their way into the 26-man squad with their strong performances recently or not.
