Gregor Kobel will have to wait a while longer for his sixth international match for Switzerland. The Dortmund player is again stricken – opening the door for a rookie.
Before the home match in the European Championship qualifier against Andorra on Tuesday, the Swiss national team has to cope with a personnel setback: Gregor Kobel is out. According to the Swiss association, the goalkeeper of Borussia Dortmund is struggling with slight discomfort in his thigh.
The timing is particularly unfortunate for Kobel. National coach Murat Yakin had previously announced that the 25-year-old would be between the posts against Andorra, although Yann Sommer remains the number one. But nothing will come of that now. Kobel will stay with the “Nati” and at least continue to train individually, but he will have to wait a while longer for his sixth international match. His last game so far was against Andorra in June (2:1).
It remains to be seen whether BVB, who will try to correct their bumpy start to the season at SC Freiburg on Saturday, will have to worry about Kobel’s fitness. Last season, the undisputed regular keeper missed seven Bundesliga games due to injury. He was also forced to take time out of training in preparation for the new season.
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While Inter newcomer Sommer is now expected to start against Andorra, Yakin has re-nominated a newcomer for Kobel: Former U-21 international Anthony Racioppi joins the squad on Monday morning. The 24-year-old has been playing for Young Boys Bern since January 2022.
Switzerland continue to lead Group I but lost ground to Romania and Israel with two 2-2 draws against them. After the Kosovo match, captain Granit Xhaka had harshly criticised the training performance, causing unrest. Will the Swiss show a different face against Andorra? Fortunately, they are now playing “not against a bigger nation”, Xhaka had quipped.
