PARIS, June 4 – Switzerland striker Breel Embolo will join his teammates in the United States on Friday after receiving approval for a visa that had delayed his departure for the World Cup, the Swiss football federation said on Thursday. Embolo missed the team’s flight to California on Tuesday after his ESTA travel authorisation was placed under further review just hours before departure, forcing him to remain in Switzerland while the rest of the squad travelled to their training base in San Diego. “We have
just been informed that Breel Embolo’s visa has been approved. He will therefore be able to travel to the United States. He is expected to join the team on Friday evening,” the federation said in a statement. The 29-year-old attended an appointment at the U.S. Embassy in Bern on Wednesday after American authorities requested additional checks linked to a legal case stemming from a 2018 altercation in Basel. According to the Swiss federation, U.S. officials sought court documents relating to the case after learning that
a 2023 conviction for making multiple threats, which resulted in a suspended fine, had become legally binding earlier this year. REUTERS
Breel Embolo, Switzerland, visa approval, ESTA, World Cup, U.S. Embassy Bern, San Diego, Basel altercation, legal case