Switzerland allow Xhaka and Embolo to return for November internationals

Granit Xhaka and Breel Embolo will be available for Switzerland selection again in November after the Swiss Football Association confirmed their return on Tuesday, BBC Sport reported. The decision follows an investigation into forged Covid-19 vaccination certificates obtained by the two players and restores their eligibility for the national team's final two Nations League fixtures.

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Xhaka, Switzerland's captain and a 34-year-old Sunderland midfielder, missed October's internationals against Scotland, North Macedonia and Slovenia. He had admitted acquiring a false certificate that enabled him to travel and compete in 2022. Embolo, the 29-year-old striker, had been left out of the national squad in September over the same issue, according to the BBC report.

National team director Pierluigi Tami said the association had considered the individual circumstances of both cases, the conclusion of legal proceedings and the sporting consequences already imposed. He said those factors supported allowing the players to return in November. The decision makes both men available to manager Murat Yakin, rather than confirming that either will be included in his next squad.

BBC Sport reported that both players received financial penalties of 150,000 Swiss francs, equivalent to £136,000, suspended for two years on condition that they commit no further offences. Xhaka has accepted responsibility for his actions. Their availability for international selection was announced after those legal proceedings and the periods in which they had been omitted from the Switzerland squad.

Xhaka has not been stripped of the captaincy, but the association said the final decision on that role remains with Yakin. The coach is due to announce his squad on 5 November. That leaves the question of who captains the team in the manager's hands, alongside his decisions on whether to select Xhaka and Embolo for the forthcoming matches.

Switzerland lead Nations League Group E before their closing fixtures against Slovenia on 13 November and Scotland on 16 November. The association's announcement gives Yakin the option of recalling both players for those games, with squad selection still to follow.