ZURICH — Switzerland's first-choice striker Breel Embolo was stuck at the airport Tuesday while his travel authorization was being rechecked, forcing him to miss the team's flight to the ir World Cup training base.
"Unfortunately, Breel Embolo is currently unable to travel to the United States with the team," the Swiss soccer federation said, confirming his ESTA had lost its approval.
The scoreboard made the point with less ceremony than everyone around it.
Travel disruption
The Swiss squad was scheduled to depart Zurich around midday for Los Angeles, with plans to continue to San Diego for the ir World Cup prep camp. Embolo, 29, has started in both of his previous World Cups and remains Switzerland's main striker option, with 24 goals in 86 international appearances.
The federation said it was informed at 10:30 a.m. that Embolo's ESTA application had been placed under further review but provided no further explanation.
That left a straightforward question hanging over the departure gate: would he make it before the plane did?
Background context
Embolo has had prior encounters with authorities in both Germany and Switzerland stemming from the COVID-19 period. In 2021, Borussia Mönchengladbach disciplined him for attending a gathering with friends during lockdown restrictions. Four years later, Swiss prosecutors listed him as a suspect in a Basel investigation involving purchased forged test certificates from 2021.
Despite those issues, Embolo traveled to the United States just over a year ago for friendly matches against Mexico and the U.S. On that brief tour, Switzerland won 4-2 in Salt Lake City and 4-0 in Nashville.
The federation said Tuesday it remained in contact with American authorities and expected Embolo would either rejoin the squad later that day or travel Wednesday.
World Cup group
Switzerland has been drawn in Group A alongside co-host Canada, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Qatar. The Swiss are expected to advance from the group stage.