Federer received a signed new jersey from the players, which will include coach Murat Yakin. There was also a joint photo. “It was a great pleasure to have such a sports legend with us. It is a great inspiration for all of us,” said defender Silvan Widmer.
The Swiss additionally added two newcomers to the nomination. Coach Yakin called forward striker Zeki Amdouni and defender Leonidas Stergiou for the first time. The coach of the Helvetic Cross has a virtually complete staff at his disposal, of the stable team members, only midfielder Denis Zakaria is missing, who is recovering from a muscle injury. Midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri was the last to join the team on Tuesday after arriving from Chicago.
The Swiss take the League of Nations as an ideal test before the upcoming World Cup in Qatar, where the Czech team has not advanced. In addition to coach Jaroslav Šilhavý’s team, they will face Portugal and Spain in Group A2.
“It’s definitely nicer to play in the World or European Championships than the League of Nations, but it’s still a good competition. I’d prefer another group because we’ve played against Portugal and Spain several times. But it’s always great to compete with big teams. We want to win the whole competition. It will not be easy, but we can do it, “said defender Ricardo Rodriguez for the federal website.