Nati check Yakin and the rump squad full of question marks - can it work out?

The Nati are facing groundbreaking games: In the Nations League, relegation is looming for the first time. Against Serbia and Spain, coach Murat Yakin will have to do without some of the team's mainstays, but others will be called upon. blue Sport takes a closer look at the current squad.

 

Dortmund

Gregor Kobel

Kobel missed the last three games against RB Leipzig, Sturm Graz and Mainz 05 due to a thigh injury. Nevertheless, he should be ready for the international matches, as it was also a precautionary measure on the part of the club not to allow the Zurich native to play recently.

Mvogo did not leave Lorient after their relegation. He wants to witch his club back to Ligue 1. He has performed well so far and is in second place with Lorient after matchday 13, just one point behind Paris FC. Yakin knows that he can rely on the 30-year-old if the worst comes to the worst. Mvogo currently has 9 international appearances to his name and was also on the bench at the European Championship.

 

Young Boys

David von Ballmoos

David von Ballmoos was one of four goalkeepers on the standby list. Now Loretz has been injured and the YB goalkeeper is replacing him. Incidentally, his rival Marvin Keller, who has also stood between the posts several times this season, for example during the week in the Champions League against Shakhtar Donetsk, was also on the list.

 

Frankfurt

Aurèle Amenda

The 21-year-old moved from YB to Frankfurt in the summer, but has hardly gained any match practice with the third-placed team. It is therefore surprising that Murat Yakin has rewarded the central defender with a national team call-up. On Sunday, Amenda was, as so often, only on the bench for the spectacular 3:2 win against Stuttgart.

 

Real Valladolid

Eray Cömert

Cömert is a regular starter at Real Valladolid, alternating between the starting eleven and partial appearances. Against Athletic Bilbao on Sunday evening, he was substituted in the 89th minute, saw yellow in the 90th and was on the pitch in the 4th minute of stoppage time when the goal was conceded. Cömert is not to blame for the goal conceded. It is interesting to note that he has mostly been deployed in defensive midfield this season and not at center-back.

 

Marseille

Ulisses Garcia

Garcia missed two games through injury before making his comeback on Friday. Against Auxerre, the 28-year-old was substituted at the break with the score at 0:3. After that, the now third-placed team in Ligue 1 improved, but could do no more than score to make it 1-3. Garcia himself made two appearances in the starting eleven before his injury lay-off, before which he made three partial appearances. Garcia last played 90 minutes for the national team against Denmark, and had previously played from the 70th minute against Serbia.

 

Lugano

Albian Hajdari

Murat Yakin will announce his national team squad for the upcoming Nations League games on Thursday afternoon. The 21-year-old Lugano defender Albian Hajdari is also included. Hours later, he made a hair-raising mistake in the 4-1 defeat in Serbia against FK TSC in the Conference League. Lugano also lost to YB in the league at the weekend, although Hajdari was not in the spotlight for the goals conceded. However, he does in a nasty collision, which is why he finishes the game wearing a turban.

 

Midtjylland

Kevin Mbabu

Midtjylland got off to a good start to the season, but their engine has faltered recently. First the defeat in the cup against Brøndby IF, followed by a 5-1 defeat in the league (again against Brøndby IF), then a 2-0 defeat against FCSB Bucharest in the Europa League and a defeat against Viborg FF at the weekend. Midtjylland, who are third in the table after 15 rounds (level on points with the two teams above them), were favorites in all of these games. Midtjylland are also on course in the Europa League after 4 of 8 matchdays (2 wins, 1 draw, 1 defeat).

 

HSV (Bundesliga 2)

Miro Muheim

"Corner God" Miro Muheim is called up for the national team for the first time. There is nothing to celebrate for the 26-year-old left-back before he is called up. On Friday, HSV lost 1:3 away at Eintracht Braunschweig. After 12 rounds, HSV are only fifth in the table, although they are only three points behind leaders Hannover 96. The former Bundesliga dinosaur has its sights firmly set on the promotion places, but things could quickly go in the other direction - 12th-placed Darmstadt 98 are only three points behind HSV.

Impressive recordA Swiss is Germany's "corner god"

 

Betis Sevilla

Ricardo Rodriguez

The 32-year-old has been a bench player in the national team for years. Since his move from Torino to Betis Sevilla, however, he has often been second choice. He has only featured in 6 of 13 league games and was on the bench against Celta Vigo (2:2) on Sunday. Four days earlier, he was at least allowed to play once more in the 2:1 win in the Conference League against Slovenian side NK Celje.

 

Benfica Lisbon

Zeki Amdouni

Amdouni almost always plays for Benfica Lisbon, but rarely from the start. He has never played from the start in the league. In the 4:1 gala against Porto, he had to make do with a mini appearance; the 23-year-old came on as a substitute in the 88th minute and scored no more goals. Four days earlier, he was in the starting eleven against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, but was substituted at half-time.

   

AS Monaco

Breel Embolo

The 27-year-old has found his stride again in recent weeks and is scoring regularly. In the Champions League, he provided the assist on the way to a 1:0 win against Bologna. However, he failed to score in the 3-1 win against Racing Strasbourg on Saturday and was substituted at the break. In the national team, he is likely to play in the center of the attack.

 

Stade Brest

Edimilson Fernandes

Stade Brest are surprisingly in fourth place in the Champions League after four rounds, putting them in a better position than international heavyweights such as Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and PSG. Fernandes opened the scoring in the 2:1 away win against Sparta Prague during the week. In the 3-1 defeat against bottom club Montpellier, however, the 28-year-old failed to make an appearance in the league for the second time in a row.

   

Bologna

Remo Freuler

The 32-year-old is an undisputed regular at Bologna and also pulled the strings in central midfield in the 3-2 win away at AS Roma. In the Champions League, however, Bologna are being shown their limits. After four matchdays, Bologna have just one point to their name.

 

Bruges

Ardon Jashari

Ardon Jashari was voted "Player of the Month for October" at Club Brugge with around 40.7 percent of the vote. After initial difficulties, the 22-year-old has earned himself a regular place. At the weekend, he played the full distance in the 2:2 draw against Beerschot VA, as he had done four days earlier in the Champions League in the 1:0 win against Aston Villa. It would come as no surprise if Jashari also gets his chance in the national team, be it as a wild card or even as a starter.

 

Servette

Dereck Kutesa

Kutesa has impressed this season. In the league, he has already scored 9 goals in the first 14 rounds, but has recently failed to score against both FCZ (1:1) and Lausanne-Sport (0:1 defeat) - partly because he did not take advantage of the opportunities presented to him in these games. Kutesa could nevertheless be an invigorating element in the attack and in the absence of the still injured Ruben Vargas, the chances of him getting his minutes are also increasing.

Change of nation off the table?Kutesa: "I'm Swiss and want to help the national team"

 

Young Boys

Joël Monteiro

Against FCZ, he was sent off with a red card after throwing a boot and will therefore be suspended against Lugano this weekend. During the week in the Champions League, he was substituted at the break with the score at 1-2. In the 82nd minute, he leaves several opponents standing and sends a dangerous cross into the Shakhtar penalty area. Unfortunately, the low cross found no takers.

 

AC Milan

Noah Okafor

Noah Okafor is reprieved by Murat Yakin and returns to the national team. "We were in contact yesterday when I informed him of the squad," explained the national team coach at the press conference. Okafor was delighted. "Anyone can make a mistake. That's legitimate and human." That's why there's no point in holding grudges for long. "He can only prove himself when he's on the pitch." At Milan, Okafor alternates between starting eleven and wild card appearances. The 24-year-old has only scored twice in his 13 appearances (1 goal in the league, 1 assist in the Champions League).

 

Stuttgart

Fabian Rieder

Rieder plays in every game for Stuttgart, but not always from the start. In the 3:2 defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt, the 22-year-old was substituted after an hour when the score was 2:0. It's a similar story in the national team: sometimes Rieder comes off the bench, such as against Serbia, or he plays from the start, as he did recently against Denmark. He also played in all five games at the European Championships, starting in the starting eleven from the third group game onwards.

 

Toulouse

Vincent Sierro

Sierro is doing really well with his team at the moment. After the last international break, Toulouse picked up 10 out of a possible 12 points in four league games. Before the international break, Toulouse had only five points after seven rounds. Sierro, who leads the team as captain, is undisputed in central midfield.

 

Parma

Simon Sohm

At the weekend, Parma celebrated a 2-1 win against bottom-placed Venice to end their 9-game winless streak (5 draws, 4 defeats). As so often, Sohm plays the full distance in central midfield. Despite the poor results in the previous games, Parma are 13th in the table. The 23-year-old has earned his place in the national team squad with consistently good performances in Serie A.

 

Young Boys

Filip Ugrinic

The 25-year-old is serving a yellow card against Lugano. He played the full distance in the Champions League during the week. Filip Ugrinic, who has played 3 games for the national team so far, is an undisputed regular for the flagging champions. His best game this season came in the first leg of the Champions League qualifier against Galatasaray Istanbul, when he played a key role in the 3-2 win with a goal and an assist - that was on August 21.

 

Bayer Leverkusen

Granit Xhaka

Xhaka will not lack confidence, even if the club has been struggling recently. On Saturday, the reigning champions picked up just one point against bottom club Bochum, conceding a 1-1 draw in the 89th minute. It was a different story in the previous season, when Xhaka and Co. decided many games in the final minutes. Before the Bochum game, Leverkusen were slapped in the face in the Champions League during the week (0:4 in Liverpool) and before that the game against runners-up Stuttgart ended goalless. Xhaka is already the mastermind in central midfield, but in the absence of several injured and retired veterans, he now has an even more important role to play.

 

Standard Liège

Andi Zeqiri

Zeqiri and his team-mates receive a heavy slap in the face ahead of the international friendly. Standard Liège went down 5-0 at KAA Gent. Zeqiri remains pale and is substituted in the 63rd minute with the score at 0:4. In the last eight games, Zeqiri has scored four goals and set up one. Statistically at least, this makes him one of the most prolific scorers in the national team.

 

Manchester City

Manuel Akanji

Manchester City have lost four games in a row for the first time under Pep Guardiola, with Akanji on the bench against Brighton & Hove Albion (1-2) at the weekend. Akanji did not feature in the first of these four defeats either. However, the Swiss defender cannot complain about a lack of match practice, as he is actually a regular in Guardiola's star ensemble.

 

Lucerne

Pascal Loretz

The 21-year-old is called up for the senior squad for the first time. Against Sion (2:4), Loretz was one of five players substituted at the break. According to coach Mario Frick, the goalkeeper is taken off the pitch due to an injury.

 

AS Monaco

Denis Zakaria

Monaco captain Denis Zakaria missed the last three games at the club through injury, but was still called up for the internationals. On Monday, he will now be withdrawn.

 

Bologna

Dan Ndoye

Dan Ndoye was substituted in the 23rd minute of the 3-2 win against AS Roma after crashing his shin against the post. The 24-year-old must now also declare a forfeit for the national team matches.

Crashed into the postDan Ndoye substituted due to injury

The following players are on the standby list: Uran Bislimi (Lugano), Kwadwo Duah (Ludogorets Razgrad), Cedric Itten (YB), Marvin Keller (YB), Philipp Köhn (Monaco), Jordan Lotomba (Feyenoord), Anthony Racioppi (Hull City), Dominik Schmid (Basel), Djibril Sow (Sevilla), Renato Steffen (Lugano), Alvyn Sanches (Lausanne-Sport), Franck Surdez (KAA Gent), David von Ballmoos (YB), Silvan Widmer (Mainz 05), Christian Witzig (St.Gallen) and Cédric Zesiger (Wolfsburg).

Relegation battle in the Nations LeagueLoretz, Muheim, Kutesa, Okafor - Yakin surprises with national team squad