Ricardo Rodríguez, Switzerland’s relentless left-winger, hails from Zurich – one of the richest cities in the world.
Denis Zakaria, the versatile right-back, was born in Geneva — the world’s center of diplomacy, global politics and a city specializing in luxury watchmaking.
Manuel Akanji, the rock at the heart of the Swiss defence, is the son of Neftenbach – a quaint, postcard village once owned by Swiss nobility.
Granit Xhaka, the Switzerland captain, hails from Basel – one of the richest metropolitan regions in the world and home to a pharmaceutical behemoth.
These are the men taking on the incredible challenge of stopping Lionel Messi from scoring again at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
They might not be. But, this story is not about Messi. Instead, it’s about Switzerland – a team 12 places behind Argentina in the FIFA rankings, who have qualified for the quarter-finals for the first time since 1954. The nation is known more for its banks than its bank of football talent. The epitome of opulence. 4th in GDP per capita. First in the Global Innovation Index. Highest average monthly salary in the world. One billionaire for every 80,000 people.
Be aside Amir Khusro. If heaven really exists on earth, it is surely located in the Alps. Jackpot in geographic lottery. Where Ricardo, Akanji and Zak are born. Elite footballers represent an elite nation. No rags-to-riches romanticism to dig here. The story ends.
Not at all. There is another part. A part that is often hidden.
Men with dual identities
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Ragip, a 22-year-old student at the University of Pristina, traveled to Belgrade to protest the communist government of Yugoslavia. He was arrested, served three years in prison and, by his own admission, was repeatedly beaten. After his release, the family fled to Kosovo. First Sweden, then Switzerland.
There, in Basel, in 1991, Tolant Xhaka was born. 25 years later, he made history as one half of the first pair of brothers to face each other at the Euros. He represented Albania. Across the pitch, in a Switzerland shirt, stood Granit.
Switzerland’s most capped footballer has rarely been a more committed servant. And yet, when asked about his allegiance, he said: “Sure, I was born and raised in Basel, but I have Albanian blood running through my body.”
Xhaka was instrumental in stopping Colombia in the round of 16, but he couldn’t have done it without his midfield partner Ardon Jashari. Born in the idyllic lakeside municipality of Cham, Jashari traces his roots to North Macedonia, where his parents are from, and Albania, the land of his ancestors.
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He says its greatest quality is not Swiss smoothness but Albanian grinta. Grit, which is rarely found. Signed by AC Milan for €39 million, the 23-year-old is one of Switzerland’s brightest prospects.
Yet he also wrestles with identity. “How can I say I’m 100% Swiss when my parents are Albanian and I consider myself Albanian?”
Born with a diaphragmatic hernia, Ricardo Rodriguez was given only a 50% chance of survival. Not only did he survive, he is now playing in his fourth World Cup for Switzerland. Yet, his boots bear the flags of two other nations – his father’s Spain and his mother’s Chile. He says he feels as Spanish and Chilean as Swiss.
The Balkans. Latino. And now, Africans.
Abimbola Akanji failed to become a professional footballer in Niger, but his son, Manuel, dreamed of fulfilling an ambition he could not. Only, in Switzerland.
the n-word
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Then reality interrupted. Manuel was called the N-word. On another occasion, a restaurant refused to serve him because of his color. Manuel is the only black player from Switzerland to win the Champions League.
“My heart beats for both Switzerland and Nigeria,” Akanji had said, adding that had he received a call from Nigeria, he would have been faced with an impossible choice. He never did.
Briel Embolo, however, received a call. Samuel Eto’o, Cameroon’s biggest icon and one of his idols. Born in Yaoundé on Valentine’s Day, his love was divided between two nations. Switzerland won, but when they did, Embolo made a cautionary announcement: “I feel 60 to 70% Swiss.” Perhaps the other 30% stopped him from celebrating when he scored against Cameroon at the 2022 World Cup.
And yet, his strike partner Dan Ndoye has a famous lion celebration. You won’t find the animal where he was born — in Nyon — but his Senegalese father told him stories of Papa Bouba Diop and the lions of Teranga. Denise Zakaria, meanwhile, had to leave her South Sudanese mother and Congolese father at 18 to live with a host family in Bern.
On the face of it, Switzerland looks like a picture of perfection. original quiet However, underneath it scratches and scars. Most of this team has two identities. Against Argentina, they will hope to make one to remember: the first Swiss team to reach a World Cup semi-final.