Switzerland thrash North Macedonia 3-0 despite Xhaka and Embolo absences

Swiss respond to major absences with emphatic win

Switzerland produced a dominant 3-0 victory over North Macedonia in Skopje, showing they could cope without captain Granit Xhaka and key striker Breel Embolo ahead of their Nations League visit to Scotland.

Remo Freuler opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, finishing low into the corner after Zeki Amdouni directed the ball into his path. Amdouni then added two more goals, with his first coming shortly before half-time and his second arriving just over 15 minutes from the end.

North Macedonia goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski could have done better for Amdouni's first goal, while Zachary Athekame supplied both assists in an impressive senior debut at right-back.

Swiss squad affected by off-field issues

Xhaka was left out after reportedly admitting that he used a fake certificate to avoid mandatory vaccination during the Covid pandemic. The 34-year-old midfielder is under investigation by Swiss prosecutors.

Embolo was already suspended for the opening match after being sent off against Argentina, but the Swiss Football Association later confirmed that he would not join the squad in Glasgow following the emergence of a private matter reported in the media. Both players are also set to miss Switzerland's October matches against Slovenia and North Macedonia.

Freuler acknowledged that Xhaka could not simply be replaced, but said the team had compensated effectively. “We don't need to talk about Granit. He's a player who can't be replaced. As a team, we have to make up for that,” he said. “We did a great job of that against North Macedonia.”

Yakin praises pressing performance

Switzerland coach Murat Yakin was delighted with his side's first-half display. Switzerland recorded 22 attempts, including 13 on target, while North Macedonia managed only two efforts, both off target.

“The first half was very good indeed,” Yakin said. “The shot count was 17-1 to us.” He added that Switzerland's pressing, a key feature of their World Cup campaign, had worked effectively again.

Parma defender Sascha Britschgi and Sion striker Winsley Boteli also made their senior debuts from the bench, while Ardon Jashari helped control midfield in Xhaka's absence. Switzerland have now lost only once in their past 10 matches, a 3-1 extra-time defeat by Argentina in the World Cup quarter-final.