Visa issue prevents Switzerland’s Embolo from boarding World Cup flight

Switzerland's World Cup preparations hit a snag as forward Breel Embolo was prevented from flying with his teammates to the United States due to a visa complication. The Swiss Football Association (ASF) announced Tuesday that the Rennes player's Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) had been approved but was subsequently placed under further review.

Embolo was scheduled to depart from Zurich with the rest of the squad. However, the ASF was informed at 10:30 a.m. that his ESTA application required additional scrutiny, preventing him from boarding the flight. The federation stated it is in contact with the relevant authorities and hopes Embolo will either join the team later on Tuesday or travel the following day.

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Unfortunately, Breel Embolo is currently unable to travel to the United States with the team. His ESTA authorisation had been approved until this morning. However, at 10:30 a.m., we were informed that his ESTA application had been placed under further review.

The ASF did not provide a reason for the review of Embolo's visa status. The 29-year-old forward, who scored his 24th international goal in Switzerland's recent 4-1 friendly win over Jordan, has had previous legal issues. In April, he received a 45-day suspended fine for threats made in 2018. Switzerland is set to begin their Group B campaign at the World Cup against Qatar on June 13.

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We are currently in contact with the relevant authorities and expect that Breel will either join the team later today or travel tomorrow and join the squad then. We will keep you informed as soon as we have any further updates.