Murat Yakin: Switzerland ready for North Macedonia, Embolo will miss

Switzerland's head coach Murat Yakin addressed the media in Skopje on Friday evening ahead of his team's UEFA Nations League, Division B fixture against North Macedonia. The visitors arrived in the capital the same day; the match at Todor Proeski Arena is scheduled to kick off at 20:45 tomorrow.

The two sides meet in a League B group that also includes Slovenia and Scotland. North Macedonia have been preparing at home for several days, while Yakin said his squad completed a training camp in Turkey and arrived in Skopje ready to compete.

Yakin confirmed Switzerland will be without several regulars. “Tomorrow we will miss key players. Embolo will be absent due to a monetary fine. We are ready. We worked well in Turkey,” he said, while also noting other absences such as Granit Xhaka and Noah Okafor.

Expectations and squad rotation

Commenting on training plans, Yakin acknowledged adjustments ahead of the game: “It's not unusual to miss a training, regarding not holding the official training tonight. We were in Turkey, we worked well and we are prepared,” he added.

On the opponent, the coach underlined respect for North Macedonia but stressed Switzerland's recent status: “There is no easy opponent in this group, respect for North Macedonia. I expect North Macedonia to show what they can. Tomorrow we can expect an interesting match, with the difference that we know what we can, and what North Macedonia cannot. We know well what to expect. We are participants of the last World Cup. We have quite a few new players who will certainly get a chance in this or another match,” Yakin pointed out.

The game offers North Macedonia a high-profile test at home, and Switzerland appear set to balance experience from their World Cup run with opportunities for younger or recently added players.

Photo: press material from the event