Amdouni double leads Switzerland to 3-0 Nations League win in North Macedonia

Switzerland began their Nations League campaign with a 3-0 victory over North Macedonia in Skopje on Saturday, September 26, with Zeki Amdouni scoring twice after helping create the opening goal. Murat Yakin's side took three points from their first fixture in League B, Group 1 at the National Arena Todor Proeski.

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The Swiss Football Association reported that the win came in Switzerland's first appearance since reaching the World Cup quarter-finals. They were without captain Granit Xhaka and striker Breel Embolo, two players with a combined 244 international appearances. Despite those absences, the visitors registered 17 attempts in the opening half, according to the association's account.

Remo Freuler broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute after Amdouni headed the ball into his path. Flashscore's match report described sustained Swiss pressure before and after that breakthrough: Dan Ndoye had an effort blocked by Visar Musliu and later struck the post, while goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski kept out a chance for Johan Manzambi. Amdouni then made it 2-0 before half-time.

North Macedonia briefly faced the prospect of playing almost the entire second half with ten men. Flashscore reported that referee Daniel Schlager initially dismissed Matej Gashtarov for a challenge on Manzambi shortly after the restart. After consulting the pitchside monitor, however, he reduced the punishment to a yellow card, leaving the hosts at full strength.

Amdouni added Switzerland's third goal in the 74th minute, completing a performance that included two goals and an assist, according to Sofascore. The forward finished with seven attempts, three of them on target. Dimitrievski later denied him another opportunity before Amdouni was substituted, so the Swiss scorer finished one goal short of a hat-trick.

Sofascore's match statistics showed how little attacking room North Macedonia found: the hosts managed two shots and none on target, compared with Switzerland's 23 attempts and 11 on target. The visitors also had five corners without conceding one. Dimitrievski made eight saves, but his work could not prevent Switzerland from combining a clean sheet with a three-goal winning margin.