Northern Ireland v Switzerland 08SEPT

REMO FREULER MIDFIELD ATALANTA AGE 29 CAPS 34 GOALS 3 Central midfielder who joined Serie A club Atalanta in early 2016. Freuler was a key part of the team which reached the 2019-20 Champions League quarter-finals. He suffered more last eight heartache for Switzerland at Euro 2020 when he was sent off in the penalty shootout loss to Spain. AGE 29 CAPS 14 GOALS 0 Winger who has previously played for three clubs – Thun, Young Boys and Basel – in the Swiss Super League. A two- time league champion with Basel, he joined Wolfsburg in 2018 and has so far scored 16 top flight goals in Germany. Steffen’s last appearance for Switzerland before this window came in 2020. HARIS SEFEROVIC FORWARD BENFICA AGE 29 CAPS 79 GOALS 24 Seferovic scored the winning goal for his country in the final at the 2009 Under-19 World Cup. Five of his senior international goals have come in 2021, including two against France at Euro 2020, and he netted 22 times in 31 league games for Benfica last term. ANDI ZEQIRI FORWARD BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION AGE 22 CAPS 0 GOALS 0 Zeqiri’s first club was Lausanne and he made his senior debut as a 15-year- old. He went on loan to Juventus’ academy before scoring 22 times in 37 appearances with Lausanne to earn a move to Brighton. Made nine outings for the Seagulls last term, all of them off the bench. RENATO STEFFEN MIDFIELD WOLFSBURG

DENIS ZAKARIA MIDFIELD BORUSSIA MONCHENGLADBACH AGE 24 CAPS 34 GOALS 3 All-action midfielder who has been compared to Toni Kroos by Lothar Matthaus, while Yann Sommer said he shares similarities with Zinedine Zidane. His mother is from Sudan and his father from Congo, but Zakaria, born in Geneva, has been part of the Swiss set-up since playing for the Under-19s in 2014. AGE 24 CAPS 3 GOALS 0 Aebischer is one of three players in this squad who plays his club football in Switzerland and is now in his sixth season with Young Boys, with whom he has won three titles. All three of his Swiss caps won prior to this international window came in appearances made off the bench. MICHEL AEBISCHER MIDFIELD YOUNG BOYS AGE 23 CAPS 16 GOALS 2 Winger with a father who hails from the Dominican Republic. He grew up in the same town as Swiss legend Stephan Lichtsteiner. He converted a penalty in the Euro 2020 shootout win over France in the last 16 but missed from 12 yards in the loss to Spain. DAN NDOYE FORWARD NICE AGE 20 CAPS 0 GOALS 0 Uncapped striker who scored five goals in 11 appearances during the last Under-21 Euros qualifiers and finals. He joined Ligue 1 outfit Nice in the summer of 2020 after helping his first senior club, Lausanne-Sport, win RUBEN VARGAS FORWARD AUGSBURG

DJIBRIL SOW MIDFIELD EINTRACHT FRANKFURT AGE 24 CAPS 18 GOALS 0

Sow is a regular for Eintracht, who finished last season fifth in the Bundesliga table. He began his senior career with Borussia Monchengladbach but returned to Switzerland and helped Young Boys win their first title in 32 years before moving on to Frankfurt. His cousin, Coumba, represents the women’s national team. FABIAN FREI MIDFIELD BASEL AGE 32 CAPS 14 GOALS 3 Experienced midfielder enjoying his second spell with Basel after initially making over 250 appearances for the club between 2007 and 2015. He was drafted into this squad following Granit Xhaka’s withdrawal. A five-time Super League winner, Frei’s last senior cap before this international window was in March 2018. AGE 27 CAPS 10 GOALS 3 Fassnacht is a wide player with an eye for goal – he has reached double figures in four of the past five Swiss Super League seasons. A four-time title winner with Young Boys, he scored twice in the 7-0 win over Liechtenstein back in June and was part of the Euro 2020 squad. CHRISTIAN FASSNACHT FORWARD YOUNG BOYS

ALL STAT IST ICS WERE CORRECT PRIOR TO SWI TZERL AND’S FRIENDLY AGAINST GREECE L AST WEEK

promotion to the Swiss top flight. His father is Senegalese.

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