According to "Blue Sport", Gregor Kobel is set to replace Yann Sommer as the Swiss national team's No. 1 goalkeeper. The coaching team led by Murat Yakin wants to make a change with a view to the 2026 World Cup.
After the successful European Championship in Germany, where the team advanced to the quarter-finals, Yakin announced talks with both goalkeepers and said that "the question is not who will be in goal in three days' time, but who will be in goal at the World Cup in two years' time".
If the answer to this question is Gregor Kobel, it would be nothing but logical to give the 26-year-old from Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund preference in the national team with immediate effect. When asked by the news agency Keystone-SDA, SFA head of communications Adrian Arnold said: "We cannot confirm this report and we are not taking part in any speculation or rumors."
Kobel, who is one of the most expensive goalkeepers in the world with a market value of around 40 million francs, has only played five international matches. Sommer took over the goalkeeping position from Diego Benaglio after the 2014 World Cup. The 35-year-old has been in goal at five World Cups and European Championships and has 94 international caps, more than any other Swiss goalkeeper.
Switzerland will play their first international matches since the European Championship at the beginning of September as part of the Nations League. On September 4, Murat Yakin's team will face Denmark away in Copenhagen, followed four days later by a home game against European champions Spain in Geneva.
SDA
