Noah Okafor has been included in Switzerland’s squad for this summer’s Fifa World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, with manager Murat Yakin naming an experienced 26-man group that leans heavily on familiar faces. The Leeds United forward is one of four Premier League players selected, alongside Granit Xhaka, Dan Ndoye and Zeki Amdouni.
Yakin said on Wednesday that he had picked the best players for the squad and was eager to get started, adding that Okafor is fully fit, knows the system and understands his role. That backing gives the 26-year-old a clear place in a side that will open tournament preparations on Monday before taking on Jordan in St Gallen on 31 May and Australia in San Diego on 6 June.
The call-up matters because Switzerland are not building from scratch. Seventeen players in the squad featured at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and several senior figures are again central to the plan. Granit Xhaka, Switzerland’s most capped player with 144 appearances, will play in his fourth successive Fifa World Cup, while Ricardo Rodriguez is set for a fourth in a row.
Okafor’s selection also fits a wider pattern in Yakin’s group. Young Boys forwards Alvyn Sanches and Joel Monteiro were part of the squad for March friendlies against Germany and Norway, but this is the stronger, more settled group Switzerland will take into the tournament. The manager has opted for continuity over experimentation, banking on players who already know the demands of his approach.
That choice leaves little room for drift once the matches begin. Switzerland will open Group B against Qatar in Santa Clara on 13 June before also meeting Bosnia-Herzegovina and Canada, and the shape of the squad suggests Yakin wants no late adjustments once preparations start. For Okafor, the challenge is simple: turn a place in the squad into minutes on the field when Switzerland need them most.
